Under the Silver Lake

Sam, a disillusioned LA resident, becomes obsessed after a beautiful woman appears at his building pool and then vanishes by morning. Instead of letting the incident fade, he starts mapping clues through the city’s glossy surface and its shadowy corners. He deciphers coded messages tucked in magazines, follows rumor chains through apartment buildings, nightclubs, and garish billboards, and collages a theory about secret societies and buried histories. As he digs deeper, the city reveals itself as a maze of pop culture reveries, conspiratorial whispers, and oddball encounters that pull him away from ordinary life toward an uncertain truth. Andrew Garfield plays Sam, Riley Keough is Sarah. The city itself feels like a character whispering decoys and hints. Evening neon lingers.

Directed by David Robert Mitchell, the film is an original screenplay rather than an adaptation. Backed by an 8.5 million budget, it stands as Mitchell's audacious LA crime project released in 2018, notable for its atmospheric sets and nocturnal tone.

Critical response was mixed, praising its audacious mood and labyrinthine misdirection while noting flaws in pacing and narrative coherence. The film probes obsession with fame, urban myth making, and the pull of hidden networks beneath Los Angeles surface. Many critics highlighted its esoteric humor and willingness to mock conspiracy culture.

Box office earnings were modest, with a worldwide gross of 2,053,469 on a budget of 8.5 million, signaling a niche release rather than a mass audience hit. It earned attention mainly among cinephiles and festival crowds rather than commercial success.

Its ambition has sparked ongoing discussions about the city as labyrinth and Hollywood myths, with viewers parsing references and conspiratorial flourishes long after the credits roll. The film's distinct mood keeps surfacing in conversations about modern urban paranoia and cinema that resists easy explanation. Its influence lingers in indie discourse.