When Twin Peaks: The Return hit Showtime in 2017, there was one very poignant presence tucked amid all the signature David Lynch style and weirdness. It wouldn’t be a true Twin Peaks revival without the Log Lady, and Catherine E. Coulson—whose portrayal of the enigmatic character made her a cult-beloved icon—got to play her one last time before her death from cancer in 2015.
Richard Green’s new documentary, I Know Catherine, The Log Lady, reveals just what went into creating that final performance while also celebrating the life and career of a woman David Lynch called “one of my dearest, closest friends.”
With Lynch himself now having departed, there’s an extra layer of melancholy woven into the documentary, though he looks in perfect health here as he looks back on his longstanding relationship with Coulson. Lynch met her in the 1970s—she was then married to Jack Nance, star of Lynch’s first feature, Eraserhead.
Coulson, who’d met Nance when they were both part of the late-1960s theater scene in San Francisco, shot a role that didn’t make it into the final film, but she mostly worked behind the scenes, building skills that led to a career as a camera assistant on films like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Though she was a talented behind-the-scenes craftsperson, performing was clearly Coulson’s first love, and I Know Catherine follows her career trajectory to the role she became most famous for, as well as beyond that as she continued acting, mostly on stage. Instead of simply following a straight line, the documentary makes very clear that her death will be a big part of its narrative, opening with a phone call she herself made to a mortuary to “set things up a little bit” ahead of the inevitable.
Throughout, it incorporates stories from her friends and colleagues as Coulson’s health began to get worse; they all marvel at the amount of drive and energy she managed to hold onto until the very end.
Catherine E. Coulson and David Lynch with other Eraserhead crew members. © History of Cool and Next Step StudiosThough I Know Catherine makes clear that there was a lot more to her than the Log Lady, Twin Peaks is still a big part of Coulson’s story, and cast mates including Kyle MacLachlan appear to reminisce about the spirit she brought to the production. “She loved the joy it brought to people,” one associate remembers, and she was pleased when Lynch’s offbeat ABC soap opera became a TV sensation.
Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost also pops up to talk more about what Coulson brought to the character—who everyone agrees was nothing like Coulson in real life—and why the Log Lady resonated so strongly with fans. Frost recalls a huge laugh at the Twin Peaks pilot screening when the Log Lady is seen flicking the lights on and off at the town meeting. When MacLachlan’s Agent Cooper asks what’s up with the lady with the log, he’s matter-of-factly informed “we call her the Log Lady.” It’s all you need to know!
A mix of humor and seriousness, the Log Lady (real name: Margaret Lanterman; she was a character Lynch had been pondering since the Eraserhead era) was a person everyone in Twin Peaks took very seriously despite her oddities. As Frost explains, she was respected, a little bit feared, and if her log had something to say to you, it was understood that you would listen.
Coulson conveyed all of that in her measured performance, and as a result the Log Lady made a big impact every time she was onscreen. That includes her handful of scenes in Twin Peaks: The Return, which were captured just days before her death at a set-up that came together very quickly in her home. (Lynch, who was on location filming the series, directed her over Skype.)
David Lynch fans—Twin Peaks fans in particular—won’t want to miss this heartfelt doc, an exceptionally intimate portrait of Coulson’s life story constructed by some of the people who knew and loved her best.
I Know Catherine, The Log Lady opens in NYC May 1 and in Los Angeles May 9; you can find a list of screenings at various theaters nationwide here.
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