David Lynch: The Art Life - Movie Reviews (2025)

If ever a soul was captured on camera, this is it.

Full Review | Feb 6, 2024

The film provides Lynch novices and fanatics with a fascinating peek inside of his entirely self-contained, self-created world, and the result is similar to his films in that it's fascinating, a little scary, visually engrossing, and worth every second.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 23, 2022

The man behind such creative and cockamamie works as 'Blue Velvet' and 'Mulholland Drive' knows how to spin a captivating yarn.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 16, 2021

Delicate and vital. Calm yet enthralling.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 30, 2020

The filmmakers do a great job keeping things simple, and let their subject be the one to muddy the artistic waters as only he can.

Full Review | May 6, 2020

This film... with its vivid biographical details, characteristically offbeat humor, and ponderous sequences of studio activity, seems destined to become an essential piece of Lynchelia.

Full Review | Feb 5, 2020

It is for committed fans, as his most famous films bar Eraserhead are not even mentioned, with the same going for his music. But for any long-time fans of the director or even anyone who loves painting, this is a very worthwhile watch.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 10, 2019

[Takes] you inside the head of Lynch. That may be a scary place to be, but man is it a treat.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Nov 3, 2018

There are no easy answers when it comes to David Lynch.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 31, 2018

Nothing is straight forward in this film, when it ended I felt I knew something about David Lynch, but really know nothing.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Oct 30, 2018

The art life is [David Lynch's] religion, and the great thing about this documentary is that you believe it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 5, 2018

How did the youngster who says he came from a "super happy household" end up as a cinema prince of darkness? While one cannot promise a clear answer to that, Lynch has some good stories to tell, particularly one about seeing Dylan in concert.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 10, 2018

Fortunately, despite this commendable attempt to unravel it, [David Lynch's] genius will remain a mystery. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 8, 2018

Burrows deep under your skin 'til you're falling, falling ever more deeply into the subconscious of this haunting documentary's subject.

Full Review | Dec 19, 2017

Fans looking for hints at the meanings of his films will find no obvious ones [here] ... Listen closely to Lynch's stories from his youth, however, and you might be able to draw lines of inspiration to scenes that later manifested in his movies.

Full Review | Oct 18, 2017

To the best of my knowledge this is the first one in which he opens up about his early years, his childhood and college days.

Full Review | Sep 8, 2017

Everything the directors show is set against Lynch's homespun affect, which -- despite his constant cigarette smoking -- has a small-town quality that seems instantly at odds with the images that spring from his mind.

Full Review | Aug 29, 2017

Focusing on the artist's work up to the creation of Eraserhead in 1977, The Art Life is utterly essential for his many followers. They may be surprised by how much of it makes sense.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 11, 2017

A documentary that doesn't seek to approach David Lynch as a contemporary essential filmmaker, but to capture him as an artist in his day to day life. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Aug 2, 2017

The authors of the film respectfully recorded the peculiar evocative speech, illustrating a vital and inseparable pulse from the artistic fact. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 2, 2017