David Lynch's Hollywoodland...

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2002)

***SPOILERS*** It's all about mood- the creating and sustaining of it. From THE GRANDMOTHER on, "mood" has been Lynch's mantra, and MULHOLLAND DR. is an excellent example. Lynch manages to "keep it up" from frame first to last. Few filmmakers are as capable. (And there IS a coherent storyline, despite popular misconception.) I was thoroughly satisfied with what amounts to Lynch's version of CARNIVAL OF LOST SOULS. After the tender mercies of THE STRAIGHT STORY (whose final, breathless moments blew me away), I was concerned that Lynch had himself "gone straight" (as have filmmakers like David Cronenberg and John Woo, to name but a pair, who have eschewed that which made their work unique in favor of more "legit"- i.e.; more "commercial"- pursuits), but MULHOLLAND DR. takes a sharp left back into the landscape where the soul of David Lynch lives. It's good to see he's back.