So Good It Hurts

Rating: Null/10 (4 July 2002)

David Lynch can be frustrating. That we know. The red herrings in Twin Peaks alone wore me out. I don't mind being teased and kept in the dark as long as the writer/director has a plan. It is common knowledge that even David Lynch didn't know where he was going in the mystery of Twin Peaks and when it was finally cancelled, he had to wrap things up. It was painful for any of us who had invested all of that time. Given that, I've learned to take him on a case-by-case basis. Contrary to what one of the critics here has said, David Lynch is a painter. That's where he started and I believe he continues to paint now. But I think most filmgoers need a narrative and aren't satisfied by Lynch's attempts to heighten the elements of emotion or dread in any given scene. That said, I was prepared to loathe "Mullholland Drive". There had been so much hype about the film, the lesbianism, Naomi Watts, etc. and coupled with the fact that it had its genesis as a TV show were enough to prejudice me. The first 1/2 hour of the movie had me rolling my eyes..the naivete of Betty, the Nancy Drew-like investigation, the dwarf...it seemed as if David Lynch was just drawing on what he had already done..an homage to himself, perhaps unintentionally parodying himself . And then he raised the stakes. The audition scene with Betty exposes a depth to the character we haven't seen before. It reveals more to us than it does to the Hollywood stereotypes in the room. Betty falls in love. Betty and Rita watch their whole relationship play out in the Latin club, Silencio. Yes, it is a dream. A wishful dream but one that also holds portents of the harsh reality of the dreamer. The kind of dream that someone sad, desperate and guilty dreams, constructing a better story, a story that gives them the power, the heroism and the love that the real story has denied them.
Betty as Diane is pathetic, and she knows it. Powerless and invisible, she allows herself to be humiliated and emotionally victimized. She can't live with the way things are and then can't live with what she has done. Setting this story in Hollywood and its mythology makes the dream/reality that much more resonant although the themes could be played out anywhere. Lover as nemesis, our "specialness" being overlooked or ignored, the feelings of powerlessness, unfairness of fate..all of these come into play. I think it was an astute choice to make the two lovers both women. If Rita had been a man, it would have been a cliche. If Betty had been a man, it would have been another kind of cliche. As women, they are on equal footing in the world's eyes and the power in their relationship, and how it shifts, is up to them. It is not imposed upon them. Because they are both women, the intimacy is exquisite and the betrayal even more brutal and painful. Naomi Watts was amazing. No vanity. This film would not have worked unless the Betty/Diane character committed emotionally to everything. A truly emotional performance, and so unexpected. I don't know how she did it. She truly lived up to all of the hype. Watching her react to Camilla's behavior and the patronizing Coco in the party scene near the end of the movie is mindblowing. The emotional life in the "reality" portion of the movie is astounding, and demonstrates that David Lynch has realized that there is nothing more frightening, painful, or exciting as what goes on inside our heart and our brain.