Under the Silver Lake is a 2018 American surrealist neo-noir black comedy mystery film written, produced and directed by David Robert Mitchell. Set in 2011 Los Angeles, it follows a young man (Andrew Garfield) investigating the sudden disappearance of his neighbor (Riley Keough), only to stumble upon an elusive and dangerous conspiracy. Topher Grace also stars.
Under the Silver Lake premiered on May 15, 2018, at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or, before being released nationwide in France on August 8. It was theatrically released in the United States on April 19, 2019, by A24. The film polarized critics; while its originality, direction, soundtrack, cinematography, and Garfield's performance were praised, some found the screenplay confusing, too cryptic, and lacking the substance and depth the film aimed for.
Plot
In the summer of 2011, Sam is an aimless 33-year-old in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, interested in conspiracy theories and hidden messages in popular culture, spying and indulging in sexual activities with other women, and uninterested in paying his overdue rent. One morning, Sam sees a news report detailing the disappearance of billionaire Jefferson Sevence. He spies on his mysterious new neighbor, Sarah, who notices him and later gets high with Sam while watching How to Marry a Millionaire. As they begin to kiss, Sarah's two roommates interrupt and Sarah suggests Sam come back the next day. Fireworks go off nearby as they stand outside Sarah’s apartment, and Sam comments that it’s a bit late in the summer for them. For a moment Sarah seems transfixed, before giving him a breathless goodbye.
In the morning, Sam discovers Sarah and her roommates have moved out overnight, and becomes obsessed with learning what happened. He goes to a party and encounters Jefferson's daughter, Millicent, who leaves when news breaks that her father has died. On television, Sam discovers that Jefferson burned to death in a car with three women. He recognizes Sarah's hat at the scene, and a small dog similar to hers is found dead. Meeting up with Comic Fan, the author of comics called Under the Silver Lake, Sam finds out that someone has been watching him and sending him secret messages, warning him to stop investigating.
Throughout his following journey, Sam encounters several strange characters, all of which are seemingly connected to the women's disappearance and the secrets of Los Angeles itself. After decoding a hidden message within the lyrics of a song by Jesus and the Brides of Dracula, Sam makes his way to the Griffith Observatory, where he meets the Homeless King. He takes Sam to a hidden cave before letting him venture alone into a secret bomb shelter.
Sam makes his way back to Comic Fan's house before being notified by the police of his apparent suicide. Sam reviews the footage from Comic Fan's hidden security cameras, and sees a naked woman in an owl mask prowling the premises, suggesting that Comic Fan's death might have not been suicide. With his friend, Allen, Sam goes to a chess party hosted by Jesus and the Brides of Dracula. He attacks Jesus, the lead singer, and violently forces him to reveal that the encrypted songs were mysteriously written by someone he calls the Songwriter. Sam has women lead him to the Songwriter, who reveals that he has encoded many songs with secret messages. He claims that he wrote most of the songs that Sam grew up with, including Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, which was written in the 1820s. After Sam demands to know who paid him to write those songs, the Songwriter attempts to kill him before Sam beats him to death with an electric guitar.
At another party, Sam encounters Millicent again, who knows that she has been followed and wants help to solve Jefferson's death. In the titular Silver Lake, Millicent gives Sam a bracelet with a set of chess moves before they are mysteriously shot at by an unknown group of people. Sam is able to survive but Millicent is fatally shot, dying eerily similar to a vintage Playboy magazine cover that Sam owns as memorabilia. The next morning, Sam realizes that the chess moves were part of a bigger code, discovering that it is a secret map route that Comic Fan believed to be true before his death.
