In the trailer for Lucky, David Lynch is on the hunt for President Roosevelt — the 100-year-old tortoise wandering around an off-the-grid desert town, that is. “There are some things in this universe, ladies and gentlemen, that are bigger than all of us,†he declares. “And a tortoise is one of them!†Let the chase begin.
Alas, Lynch is but a supporting player in Lucky, co-starring with his frequent collaborator Harry Dean Stanton — now known as Twin Peaks’ Carl Rodd — in what’s been described as a career-capping role. The film, which marks the directorial debut of John Carroll Lynch and has scored very good reviews out of its SXSW premiere, centers on a 90-year-old atheist (Stanton) as he begins an illuminating, improbable journey toward enlightenment. How David Lynch hunting for a missing tortoise named after our longest-serving president fits into that story line is not exactly clear. But then again, if David Lynch had any influence at all on this movie, we probably shouldn’t expect it to be.
Lucky is due for release on September 29.