Mystery, abstract, arcane, sublime

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2002)

I have just returned from seeing Mulholland Drive for the first time. It's been a long wait for it to show at a cinema relatively close to me in England, and it was worth the wait. It's a film that is best watched than described (most of you will have seen it anyway), so I'll keep this as brief as I can because there's so much to discover for the first (and second)-time spectator. It's a film that is at first, and for quite a way through it, seemingly straightforward. Straight from the opening sequence there are some of the many clues in the film. A group of young people are dancing and then three whitened figures are projected onto the dancers. This is relevant.
The main narrative follows a beautiful lady who we first see in the back seat of a limo at night. The car stops and a man in the car produces a gun. The limo is then hit by a speeding car. The lady stumbles from the wreckage and later finds herself at a house where she meets a budding actress who has come from Ontario, and who met an eccentric old couple on her flight. The lady from the limo is suffering from amnesia and the aspiring actress is to help her discover her identity. There are many other adjuncts - a man in a diner tells another man about a strange figure he has dreamt of who resides behind the diner (who we then see). There's a comical scene involving a hit man. A film director with an unfaithful wife is being leaned on by some executives who insist that a certain actress must appear in his film. There's a mysterious and menacing figure called the Cowboy (not dissimilar to the Mystery Man in Lost Highway). There's more, there's much more. It's during the last reel when the main narrative twists and the film delves into deeper ambiguous territory. There's an arcane box (similar to the one in Buñuel's Belle du Jour). The curtains, sparks of electricity, sound and smoke are classic Lynch. The atmospheric music by Angelo Badalamenti (who also appears in a scene involving an espresso and a napkin) is as accomplished and appropriate as ever. I don't want to say anything else except to recommend that those of you who haven't seen it do so as soon as possible. This is a treat for fans of surreal films. I'm looking forward to seeing it again soon and purchasing the DVD.