Lynch simply being Lynch

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2006)

David Lynch has, in his own funny way, become sort of like a cinematic McDonald's. You know exactly what you are going to get before you order, and in some way, the dishes are all alike in spite of some fundamental differences. In a Lynch film, you know you are going to get a lot of surreal imagery, stories that would make sense if you could take the pieces and rearrange the order, or soundscapes that promote a creeping sense of unease. Sometimes all of the above. But then, Lynch must also have quite a lot of talent as a director, given that he is able to coax decent and genuinely good performances out of two women who used to appear in Please Go Away. Critics of the film have attacked it for being an excuse to show minimally-simulated lesbian sex scenes or making no sense, and I cannot deny that they have some cred in a sense. Without reading an explanation or theory of the plot in advance, Mulholland Dr. tends to make little sense. However, unlike Eraserhead, it does not allow for thousands of theories that may not coincide with what Lynch had in mind.
Many scenes in the film are referenced later, or even in advance, and some are repeated from a different perspective. What makes Mulholland Dr. watchable is the theory that it is the story of a young woman's emotional breakdown as her career stumbles into a quick decline. Originally made as a pilot for a TV series, it appears to be a series of reflections on experiences in the director's life. The illusion and perceived glitz of Hollywood is contrasted with its hidden squalor and dirty politics. If one simply sees it in this way, then the film is otherwise just a string of bizarre coincidental images. Lynch has given a series of clues in order to unlock the hidden meaning of the film, but I honestly believe he neither knows nor cares about any hidden message himself. Not that he is deliberately confusing the audience to hide a lack of skill. Rather, he is simply feeding his own legend in order to promote the story. Exactly what the point of scenes such as the Ryan Entertainment meeting is, he would rather we just make up for ourselves. You have to respect a director who is willing to do that.
As I mentioned, the film contains performances from two women who appeared in Please Go Away, the television series that has come to symbolise everything I loathe about Australia, its culture, and its people. Naomi Watts is the more prominent of the two, and there is no way one would guess from watching her in this film that she was somehow involved in that utter talent vortex. In a strange way, it is her wide-eyed, innocent portrayal of a woman new to this strange land called Los Angeles that keeps the viewer focused. The real star of the show, however, is Laura Elena Harring, who has no connection whatsoever to the aforementioned soap opera, and it shows. Starting the film as a mousy, frightened woman with no memory of who or what she is, at least half the shocks and revelations of the plot come from her. Justin Theroux provides the rest of the film's heart as the director who simply wants to retain artistic control, but slowly transforms through the film when he is harshly reminded of who has the real power in Hollywood. It has been suggested that this is an autobiographical character based on Lynch's reflections on the production of Dune, which would not surprise me.
By far the most puzzling and interesting sequence of the film is the play in the club Silencio. It is worth sitting through this sequence a few times in order to catch everything that Geno Silva says during his monologue. I do not speak Spanish fluently enough to understand how the statements made in the language during the song affect the plot, but it would not surprise me to learn that much of the entire plot is revealed in this sequence. Another memorable scene occurs when a mob heavy comes to the Kesher house, in search of the esteemed director. A lot of people who wanted to punch Billy Ray Cyrus in the face for Achy Breaky Heart will live vicariously through this scene. Many who suffered through the introduction of Lorraine Kesher will also find this scene quite satisfying. I cannot reveal the most satisfying scene in the film, however, as it is basically the end of the film and just left me dumbfounded when I first saw it, as I suspect Lynch intended. Then again, Lynch and dumbfounded often belong in the same sentence where reaction is concerned.
Out of ten, I gave Mulholland Dr. an eight. It suffers somewhat from its TV pilot origins, and a few plot threads seem to be left quite loose, but it remains by far Lynch's most accessible and satisfying work, at least from what I have seen. Even if you despise other Lynch films, as Roger Ebert seems to do, you might just find Mulholland Dr. strangely rewarding, as Roger Ebert also seems to do. In fact, Ebert says it best with a quote from his review: "the less sense it makes, the more we can't stop watching it". Amen, Roger.