Mulholland Drive

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.

Originally filmed in 1999 as a TV pilot, "Mulholland Dr." was rejected. The next year, David Lynch received money to film new scenes to make the movie suitable to be shown in theaters. He did so - and created one of the greatest, most bizarre and nightmarish films ever made.

The film really doesn't have main characters, but if there were main characters, they would be Betty (Naomi Watts) and Rita (Laura Elena Harring). Betty is a perky blonde who's staying in her aunt's apartment while she auditions for parts in movies. She finds Rita in her aunt's apartment and decides to help her. You see, Rita's lost her memory. She has no clue who she is. She takes her name, Rita, from a "Gilda" poster in the bathroom. So the two set out to discover who Rita really is.

David Lynch has been known for making some weird movies, but this film is the definition of weird. It's bizarre, nightmarish, and absolute indescribable. It's like a dream captured on film. By the 100-minute point, the film has become extremely confusing - but if you've been watching closely, it will make perfect sense. Having watched the movie and then read an article on the Internet pointing out things in the film, I now understand the movie completely.

The acting is very good. Watts is terrific. Justin Theroux is very good as a Hollywood director facing problems with the local mob. The music is excellent. Angelo Badalamenti delivers one of his finest scores. And the directing - hah! David Lynch is as masterful a filmmaker as ever there was.

Is this your type of film? Well, that depends. You should probably view more of Lynch's work before watching this movie. You'll need to be patient with the film, and probably watch it a second time to pick up the many clues Lynch has left throughout the movie. For Lynch fans, this is a dream come true.

"Mulholland Dr." is a masterpiece. It's brilliant, enigmatic, and masterfully filmed. I love it.

Getting through David Lynch's catalogue and not all of his films have done it for me (or even been watchable for me). Mulholland Drive, though, was a mesmerising experience, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The fantastic third act revelations make rewatching it urgent!

I feel it's hypocritical to call a movie a "masterpiece" (which this is), while at the same time slapping it a bit for the very essence of what it is and tries to achieve... but that's what keeps this from being a "10" for me. Because, after watching and then exhaustingly reading about the film (and understanding more about it that way), it's pretty obvious that many/most people won't "get it" fully the first time... and that detracts a little... even though the complexities are what ultimately makes it great. Does that make sense?

It's a Catch-22. You can't KNOW about it before you start... that would ruin the presentation... and yet there's a very legit chance you won't fully understand it either if you go in cold. It needs either a 2nd viewing, or the post-movie research to understand (if you're willing to do that, and even if you DO, you're going to want to watch it again anyway). All the clues are there and it all makes sense, once you know. But it is so intentionally deceptive, it's hard to know what you don't know.

But it's brilliant, artistic, evocative, and clever. It slaps hard at Hollywood and the dream machine, and the disillusionment of aspiration. There is quite simply nothing like it. It has been called "the best film of the 21st Century," and I won't dispute that. But it IS hard to follow and understand and demands more of the viewer than almost any film I've ever seen. So I'd say watch it, draw your own conclusions, read about it, hear what others think and believe... and then watch it again. You will be rewarded

But there is no denying that it is absolute brilliance, and David Lynch's crowning achievement.

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.