Not the sort of film I enjoy watching

Rating: 2/10 (29 April 2017)

Like INLAND EMPIRE, MULHOLLAND DRIVE is an obtuse and mysterious exercise in film-making from director David Lynch. Like INLAND EMPIRE, it's an abstract mood piece, a bizarre mystery that asks the viewer to do plenty in working out the meaning of clues and seemingly random moments in an effort to build a picture from one big puzzle. Like INLAND EMPIRE, I hated it.
When I sit down to watch a movie, I like linear storytelling and concrete detail. I don't like odd things that have no explanation and are present for the sake of merely being arty. MULHOLLAND DRIVE is a slow and long-winded narrative about a couple of women exploring a strange and skewed world. The Hollywood setting allows Lynch some self-referential themes, but I found the whole thing a big turn-off, not least the bland performances from Naomi Watts and Jeanne Bates. The ending, when it hits, offers a disappointing twist which rounds off the production quite aptly.