Inland Empire, a thriller written, directed, and edited by David Lynch, tells several intertwined stories in the small town of Los Angeles.
In a hotel room, a young Polish prostitute is crying after having sex with a client. Meanwhile, the television is on, showing a strange sitcom featuring human-like rabbits. Then there's Nikki Grace (Laura Dern), an actress who desperately wants to play Susan in the film On High in Blue Tomorrows. The day before the audition, her neighbour, a very elderly woman (Grace Zabriskie), comes to visit. She assures her that she will get the role and begins asking her countless questions about the film's plot. .
And so it happens: the actress gets the part, and filming begins. Day after day, however, the young woman becomes so immersed in the character that she can no longer distinguish her true identity. This leads her to engage in a perverse relationship with Devon (Justin Theroux), the lead actor, and Billy, the character he plays. The actress sees herself and her alter ego blurring into multiple dimensions, as if simply going backstage would be enough to find herself somewhere new. The situation becomes even more complicated when a woman with a screwdriver appears and tries to attack her.