I'm not a big fan of David Lynch, but this is probably his most fully-realized artistic vision...his masterpiece, if you will. As with anything I've ever seen Lynch put his hand to, it's pretentious to an annoying degree, but, thanks to a reasonably linear and coherent storyline as well as some very good, or at least effective, acting, it manages to make its point in spite of itself, and portions of it will haunt you long after you've seen it. Kyle MacLachlan is very good in showing the duality of his character; the quirky, self-destructive darkness inside the bland All-American exterior. As GenghisTheHun mentions, Dennis Hopper literally chews up the scenery as the frothing psychotic. I'm not really sure this qualifies as good acting, per se, but it is fascinating to watch. As for Isabella Rossellini, I'm not sure she qualifies as a good actress, but she's exquisitely beautiful, and artlessly disturbing as the sad masochist that MacLachlan forms such an unhealthy attachment to. All in all, if you have to see a David Lynch film, this is the one to see (or "Eraserhead", if you're drunk or  high and it's playing as a Midnight Movie somewhere).

This has a very good cast headed by Dennis Hopper and Kyle MacLachlan about the seamy, steamy side of an otherwise respectable town. Hopper is quite a ways over the top and chews the scenery into little bitty pieces. The whole thing is just flat weird, but different. I suppose that is why it has the rep of being a cult movie. I stumbled on an old review and the critics raved about this in 1986--unbelievable.

Creepy but memorable David Lynch movie about dismembered ears, oxygen masks as sex toys, and the bizarre underside of life in a southern town.