“Blue Velvet,” from iconic director David Lynch, is another movie that makes the list of the greatest noir movies of all time. Packing a talented cast, the movie can be considered a violent coming-of-age tale that tells the story of an all-American young man who attempts to solve a mystery but unknowingly gets into a dangerous situation that is much more than he can handle. He discovers that his seemingly idyllic hometown has a murky, dangerous underbelly when he plunges into investigate a mystery.

The movie opens with scenes of the small, lazy town of Lumberton, North Carolina. Tom Beaumont, a senior resident in the town, is watering his garden on a bright day. Suddenly, Tom collapses to the ground as a result of a heart attack. This scene is very reminiscent of a scene in “The Godfather” where an elderly mob leader similarly collapses from a heart attack while playing with his grandchild in the garden.

Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), Tom’s son, returns to Lumberton upon hearing the news. One day, as Tom is relaxing in a small vacant lot, he discovers what appears to be a severed human ear in the dirt. Using a piece of paper nearby, Tom picks up the ear and takes it to Detective John Williams (George Dickerson) at the town’s police station. As Jeffrey’s father owns a hardware store in the small town, John is acquainted with Tom.

The two men take it to the coroner’s office, after which the area is declared a crime scene, and a team of men search the area for more clues. Inquisitive to find out more about the ongoing investigation, Jeffrey visits John at his residence.

John tells Jeffrey that he cannot divulge more about the case and that he, Jeffrey, should not talk about his disturbing discovery to anyone else. As Jeffrey leaves, Sandy (Laura Dern), John’s daughter who was listening in on the conversation between John and Jeffrey, strikes up a conversation with him. Sandy tells Jeffrey that while overhearing her father’s conversation, a name that came up was that of Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), a singer who lives in an apartment building close to where the ear was found.

Jeffrey, playing the role and with Sandy’s support, calls on Dorothy at her apartment, in the guise of a pest control worker. While he is in her apartment, a man wearing a yellow jacket, whom Jeffrey christens ‘the yellow man’, calls on Dorothy. When Jeffrey secretly leaves her apartment, he steals one of the keys to her apartment.

Jeffrey, accompanied by Sandy, visits a club where Dorothy performs as a singer. That night, Dorothy performs “Blue Velvet,” a popular song in the 50s that was originally sung by Tony Bennett. Leaving the club while Dorothy is still performing, Sandy drives Jeffrey to Dorothy’s apartment. As Sandy waits in her car, Jeffrey uses the key he stole to enter Dorothy’s apartment again. Soon Dorothy returns home, and Jeffrey hides in a closet. She soon catches Jeffrey, and with a knife in her hand, demands that the frightened youngster make love to her.

However, there is a knock on the door, and a terrified Dorothy hides Jeffrey in the closet. A violent psychotic maniac, Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), enters the apartment and proceeds violently to physically abuse and assault Dorothy while taking periodic hits of narcotic gas from a glass canister.

Ultimately, Frank leaves, and so does Jeffrey. Jeffrey deduces that Frank has Dorothy’s husband and son held captive somewhere. By threatening to kill his captives, Frank is blackmailing Dorothy to satisfy his own twisted sexual desires. Jeffrey also believes that the ear he found belongs to Dorothy’s husband. He also surmises that it was Frank who cut off the man’s ear to threaten Dorothy.

Jeffrey makes advances on Sandy, who rejects his advances, claiming to be in love with her boyfriend Mike. Jeffrey visits Sandy again and is soon sucked into a sadomasochistic relationship where she insists that he, Jeffrey, slap her during intimate moments.

One evening, just as he is leaving Dorothy’s apartment, in a case of bad timing, Frank sees him at her doorstep. Frank, who is accompanied by a few of his cronies, roughs up Jeffrey. He then forces Dorothy and Jeffrey to accompany him and his cronies for a wild ride.

The night turns into a dangerous psychological nightmare for Jeffrey and Dorothy. Jeffrey would meet some of the most dangerous residents of the town. One of them is Ben (Dean Stockwell), who is also a singer and performs Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams’ for Frank’s enjoyment. Jeffrey somehow survives the night’s ordeal.

As the plot unfolds, Jeffrey realizes that Frank has a mole at the police station. Sandy and Jeffrey start having stronger feelings for each other. Can Jeffrey save Dorothy and her family from the dangerous predicament? How can he take on a psychopathic mobster like Frank and his dangerous gang? The rest of the plot answers this question after a series of disturbing sequences.

“Blue Velvet” is a violent and disturbing crime thriller, regarded by many critics as one of the best noir movies of all time. It is the fourth film directed by David Lynch, who is known for packing surreal elements into many of his movies. The cinematography with many nocturnal scenes masterfully uses light and shade photography techniques to set the grim tone of the plot. It is supported by a great soundtrack featuring many popular hits from the time. The cast, comprised mostly of rising stars, with the exception of Dennis Hopper, delivers great performances. As for Hopper, he is at his best, playing the psychotic Booth, switching between his temper tantrums and maniacal laughter. It is a must for all crime and noir movie buffs.