Grade:  B+

Director:  David Lynch		Released:  October 2001
Writer:  David Lynch		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Naomi Watts, Laura Harring		Running time:  147 minutes

Ratings System

I challenge you to watch this film just once, then explain the plot.  Explain the blue box.  Explain Betty; is she real or imagined?  Explain the guy who has a heart attack at the diner.  Explain the cowboy.  There's no way to fully understand what Lynch is doing, especially after only one viewing.

Mulholland Dr. is intriguing, I was riveted to the screen.  Some scenes are so good they made me giggle, the way that you laugh when relieving tension.  It's an extremely entertaining film, and you're bound to get confused during the last third of it.  There comes a point in the movie where it appears as if all things are about to be explained.  Then you wait for the explanation, because it's coming any second.  And then you keep watching, just knowing all the pieces are going to fall together at any moment.  And then the credits roll.  You're left to make up your own mind, or perhaps watch it again to try and figure it out.  It takes a daring and intelligent film-maker to make this kind of film, and that's what I'd expect from David Lynch.  I suspect there is an actual narrative hidden within the film, but perhaps only Lynch knows for sure what it is.  I'm off to scour the internet for an analysis of the film.

Two hours later ...

I found a very interesting analysis at salon.com.  I can agree with a lot of what that article says, but also have my own thoughts about it.  Undoubtedly, you will also have your own thoughts.

It's a rare occasion that I would classify a film as "important".  But that's what Mulholland Dr. is.  Not just entertainment, it makes a statement about Los Angeles and Hollywood.  The opportunity that they represent, and the disappointment they actually deliver.  To dream this stuff up and to execute it on film is a genius undertaking.  Lynch has such a unique and intelligent style, he has created a genre all his own.

- crocoPuffs