| Rabbits | |
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| Directed by | David Lynch |
| Written by | David Lynch |
| Starring | Scott Coffey Rebekah Del Rio Laura Harring Naomi Watts |
| Release date(s) | 2002 |
| Running time | 50 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Rabbits is a 2002 film written and directed by David Lynch. It consists of an 8-episode series of short videos. The series was formerly shown exclusively on DavidLynch.com, but is no longer available there. Both the set and some footage of the rabbits are reused in Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE. Rabbits is presented with the tagline: "In a nameless city deluged by a continuous rain... three rabbits live with a fearful mystery". As with most of David Lynch's films, the score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti.
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Cast
- Scott Coffey as Jack
- Rebekah Del Rio as Jane (whilst singing)
- Laura Harring as Jane (as Laura Elena Harring)
- Naomi Watts as Suzie
Synopsis
Each episode takes place in a single dark room, with no camera cuts except for one lonely cut in episode six, at a ringing telephone. There's a rain track constantly playing, and the camera loses focus whenever thunder cracks. The three rabbits - Jack, Jane and Suzie - enter, walk, sit, stand up and exit the room. Whenever one of the rabbits enters the room, an applause track is played. A laugh track is played apparently randomly, since there are no jokes, and the laugh seems pointless despite the film having a sitcom format. Action is scant, with the rabbits uttering their lines between pauses in disorder, so that there is no coherent flow of dialogue. When the lines are rearranged, there is still no explanation for the laugh track, and the overall meaning of the dialogue remains cryptic, with several allusions to "it". The rabbits take turns in reciting incoherent lines of poetry, starting with Jane and ending with Suzie, interrupted by sudden lapses of awareness that are quickly drowned by a burning match in the background. To a similar effect, a diabolical mouth is shown twice in the show, reciting gibberish. In the very last episode, the steps that have been haunting the rabbits finally come to a stop, the door opens, and a hellish scream is heard. The rabbits cower in fear on the sofa, and Jane says "I wonder who I will be."
Interpretations
Several fans have set up internet websites or posted on discussion forums, attempting to make sense of this surreal series. Explanations that come up the most often claim the three rabbits are in some sort of purgatory, or in hell. Several lines allude to a past life, possibly human ("Were you blonde?") and at times the rabbits seem to be possessed by lapses of awareness ("Something's wrong") that are drowned in nonsensical poem-recitings. There are furthermore many allusions to "a dark place" and a future life (the very last line, "I wonder who I will be"). There are also hints that they are being watched by some sort of audience ("I only wish they would go somewhere"). Aside from these obscure allusions to past and future life, there is also frequent mention of the time of the night ("It had something to do with the telling of time". This theme is developed in Lynch's latest movie, INLAND EMPIRE).
External links
- Rabbits at the Internet Movie Database
- Rabbits at lynchnet.com
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| Feature films | Eraserhead (1977) • The Elephant Man (1980) • Dune (1984) • Blue Velvet (1986) • Wild at Heart (1990) • Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) • Lost Highway (1997) • The Straight Story (1999) • Mulholland Dr. (2001) • Inland Empire (2006) |
| Short films | The Short Films of David Lynch • Lumière et compagnie (segment "Premonition Following An Evil Deed") (1995) • Darkened Room (2002) • Boat (2007) |
| Television | Twin Peaks • American Chronicles • On the Air • Hotel Room |
| Other work | Industrial Symphony No. 1 • Rabbits • Images •Dumbland • The Angriest Dog in the World • Frequent David Lynch collaborators • BlueBob • The Air Is On Fire • |
