Non mainstream surrealistic atmospheric drama

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2002)

If you dislike movies that are not explaining everything to you, that leaves you with questions unanswered and different possible explanations of what was actually happening then you better avoid Mulholland Dr. The same thing goes if you are demanding a lot of action, but if you appreciate a superbly directed drama where you get to think for yourself without getting everything spelled out for you, then Mulholland Dr. might be something for you.
Mulholland Dr. has so many highly entertaining scenes if you appreciate the combination of good dialogue and good acting, but if I am forced to mention a few it would be Adam Keshers meeting with The Cowboy (excellent dialogue) and his meeting with the Castigliane brothers (the expresso scene is so marvelously twisted). Normally I hate when movies shows musical performances to fill up the screen time but the audition scene in MD is very well performed and the singers are sexy and charismatic. Another favourite scene is when the big bully enters Adam Keshers house like a living bulldozer or when Cookie tells Adam that whoever he is hiding from they know where he is or... there are so many favourite scenes, I can't mention them all.. OK, but just a couple more; the hitjob scene is very funny if you have a sense for black humor and the ability to laugh when people are getting murdered and the very short scene with the hooker asking for a cigarette is simply marvelous, she is so genuine and still I can't help being amazed that there are people like her right here on Earth. (She appears to be like a child mentally but she has the oldest profession in the world and she "takes a cigarette though").

Lynch also uses music masterfully, creating a thick and mysterious atmosphere, just to sit back and enjoy. Now I came to think about a couple of more scenes that I just have to mention; the lesbian scene is very believable and very hot and the scene where a man and his friend follow up on a dream, it would not be in a normal Hollywood movie, it is not essential for the story, but it is good, it is highly entertaining, mysterious and Mulholland Dr. is not your normal Hollywood movie.
I don't claim that I have understood everything in Mulholland Dr., I am just a human and I have only seen the movie once (although I have seen some of the above mentioned scenes at least five times), but MD is so entertaining that it is not necessary to understand everything. My unanswered questions only acts like a bonus, a motivation to watch the movie again.
The sheer number of reviews on IMDb of Mulholland Dr. (663 at the moment) is an indicator of the fact that this is a movie with impact, you will no be indifferent after seeing it, I think you will either love or hate it. Recommended for mature audiences only. Kids and action fanatics will be bored. My rating is 9 / 10, with more violence it would have been a 10.