Mulholland Drive

"Mulholland Dr." is something else. It is a film that will make you question your own sanity in many ways. Naomi Watts is the young, starry-eyed Canadian that wants to make it big in Hollywood. She is naive and thinks that dreams can come true if you want them bad enough. Watts discovers a very beautiful woman with amnesia (Laura Harring in a sizzling performance) in her aunt's house in L.A. and she becomes determined to help Harring out. Harring is mysterious and her near-fatal car crash occurred on the dark and winding Mulholland Dr. Throughout several oddball and very dark scenes take place. A young director (Justin Theroux) learns that Hollywood is run by strange underworld figures that are quiet, but ruthless. Another strange side-story is the mysterious man behind the diner that is seen in another character's dreams. An inept assassin also runs around causing unwanted trouble for himself and others. Then of course there are cameos by Robert Forster and Billy Ray Cyrus. The film twists into darkness as it progresses as Watts' and Harring's relationship turns sexual. A fine line between reality and fantasy is skewered and it comes down to a strange Pandora's box that holds the true secrets to "Mulholland Dr.". Oscar-nominated director David Lynch also shows that not all you see and hear is real, even though one's mind might think so. The film seems artificial at times, showing Hollywood as a nice place where dreams can come true. But then the dreams are turned into vivid nightmares of what could possibly be the true reality. David Lynch somehow makes this whole thing work and he makes it work beautifully in this reviewer's opinion. The film is a trumped-up version of "The Twilight Zone" and it adds many techniques that made Alfred Hitchcock the true master of suspense. Many wonder what this film is truly about. I am not sure. I am not sure Lynch even knows, but I am going to give it a shot. "Mulholland Dr." is the dark side of the human condition. It is a film that shows how easy one can lose one's soul if bad elements are let in. There are figures that seem somewhat supernatural to me in this movie. It seems that many of the characters are "messengers" that are all after one thing: Naomi Watts' soul. Watts lets the elements in and in the end she cannot overcome them. What she thinks she wants seems attractive on the outside, but there are cobras on the inside that will be too strong to fight off. In short, "Mulholland Dr." is a brilliant piece of film-making and it is brilliant due to its unique aspects and the fact that it is what one thinks it is. There is no right or wrong answer and it is a film that makes you think. "Mulholland Dr." is a complicated puzzle for the minds of cinema fanatics. 5 stars out of 5.

The late great David Lynch's Mulholland Drive starts with a car crash on- wait for it- Mulholland Drive. With picturesque views of LA at night, the sole survivor Rita (Laura Harring) trundles down the valley into the city. Police soon learn that a witness might have fled from the crash and a search begins. It's not the search that's important, per se, but more the fact that it's happening at all. It's a plot device to set mood; the mood itself is the goal.

Next, Naomi Watts' character Betty arrives at LA International Airport on the arm of an older couple whom she'd met on the flight. She mutters no words beyond, "Oh, I can't believe it" as she's welcomed by the "Welcome to Los Angeles!" banner at the foot of the escalator. We don't know much about where she's headed or why- but we totally do: starlet lands in Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. Lynch appreciates how there's scarce need for dialogue. This story's been told enough times that we can fill in the holes ourselves. He lets the movie breathe.

Rita and Betty eventually cross paths and the narrative takes shape from there, alongside a passel of other characters and storylines. Everyone's either being chased/watched, feels like they are, or is just generally discomfited by their predicament. There's an active force in the background that we can't see despite our eyes being glued to the screen. It takes some time before we make sense of the many abstractions. True to form, Lynch moves artfully between what's real, what's vivid dream, and what's pure fantasy- it's Hollywood, remember- but we remain confident in the story based on clues provided by a director who's long earned our trust as moviegoers.

Opulent orchestral music (City of Prague Philharmonic) animates the monster of the city. The gently pulsating score gives texture to the mood, depth to the drama, and ultimately heart to the film. Periodic shots of the Hollywood sign serve as a visual reminder of where we are. Bird's eye views of the heliports downtown reinforce the same. Only later do we realize the story has not much to do with LA- yet it does. It's a movie about making movies, after all. If Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood was a love letter to Los Angeles in general, Lynch's Mulholland Drive is a hostile rebuke of Hollywood in particular (which might be a good way to approach this ambitious film if you're seeing it for the first time).

On balance, Mulholland Drive means different things to different people- maybe even different things to the same people! We come to Hollywood to realize our dreams, and its winding road leads some to success and others over the edge. It may lead to a crash from which we can escape- literally or figuratively- but our ultimate fate is decided by strangers, some of whom lie in our own heads. We may start by looking outwardly for answers but by the end we're transfixed on what's happening within. So while Mulholland Drive does exist on a map, it's the Mulholland Drive in our minds that may dictate actual outcomes. As one character declares to another halfway through the film, "Man's attitude will determine to a large extent how his life will be."

Well if that's true, Lynch must have had a wonderful attitude because he led an exemplary life, and this film was surely among the peaks of his career. Essential viewing.

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"In work and in life, we're all supposed to get along. We're supposed to have fun, like puppy dogs with our tails wagging. It's supposed to be great living; it's supposed to be fantastic." - David Lynch.

10/10

Recently, I read an excerpt from a book by Dennis Lim called "David Lynch: The Man from Another Place." In it, the author mentions how much Lynch despises interpretation of his work. He writes:

"Writing about David Lynch, it can be hard not to hear his voice in your head, protesting the violence being done to his work. 'As soon as you put things in words, no one ever sees the film the same way,' he once told me. 'And that's what I hate, you know. Talking—it's real dangerous.' Not for nothing does "Mulholland Drive," the Lynch movie that has invited the most fervent flurry of explication, end with a word of caution: 'Silencio.'"

This reminded me that 11 years before this edit I had written this very review on IMDb, which contained an interpretation of the film's plot. I've decided to remove all of that. Whether or not you are satisfied with a particular interpretation of the plot should be irrelevant to your enjoyment of the film. I enjoyed it before I had that satisfying interpretation. And I'm hoping that I can clear it from my mind the next time I watch "Mulholland Dr."

I will leave one thing from my original post. A quote by Peter Greenaway. "I would argue that if you want to write narratives, be an author, be a novelist, don't be a film maker. Because I believe film making is so much more exciting in areas which aren't primarily to do with narrative."

Wow, what a strange film. It's a David Lynch movie so it's no surprise that it is weird.

I defy anyone to totally explain everything in this film. I can't be done. After some research following my second viewing of this film, I pretty much know most of the story but on a first look, and with no aid from other reviewers or outside help, it is hard to figure things out. So, if you're in that boat and was confused, don't feel bad; that's normal. Let me just say the key to the film is Naomi Watts' character.

At any rate, I find the film fascinating. I love the wonderful visuals and rich colors and find each character in this movie really different and fun to watch. The camera-work is excellent and the music is creepy, a la Lynch's "Blue Velvet." There also are some good sound effects to help some of the dramatic scenes. In all, it's very well scored.

Like Lynch's "Twin Peaks" television series, this was a film in which the end was pieced together afterward since Lynch thought this film was going to be a long, drawn-out TV series. When that didn't happen, he pieced at the last minute this ending. That may account for some of the confusion at the end and the lack of explanations concerning characters we see earlier in the film but who mysteriously disappear.

The theme of the story, supposedly, is a negative comment about Hollywood and what it does to people, especially those whose dreams of being an actor are crushed.

Both Watts and the other leading lady, Laura Eleana Harring, are very interesting to watch, especially in their celebrated lesbian sex scene. Looks- wise, both women were chameleons, looking average at times, stunning at other times.

I enjoyed this movie more on the second viewing than the first. It's not just a curiosity piece; it's a very intriguing movie.....just don't feel stupid if you can't make sense of a few things.

This was my first David Lynch film and it left me completely stunned and amazed. You will have to come up with your own interpretation of the movie and that changed my view on movies and art as a whole. Recommended for everyone who wishes to see something truly unique and interesting.