Great for Lynch fans  but many will be frustrated at the (seeming) lack of cohesion and explanation and be frustrated at the amount of work that needs to be done to watch this film

Rating: Null/10 (9 January 2003)

Irene is in a car accident and stumbles out towards the city as the only survivor and having lost her memory. She hides in the flat of Betty's aunt as she leaves the city. Betty is an innocent aspiring actress who arrives in LA to borrow her aunt's flat as she tries to `make it' in Hollywood. Betty tries to help Irene remember who she is and the trail begins with the large wads of money in her purse. They follow the trail that leads to more confusion. Meanwhile a director, Kesher, is under significant and sinister force to cast a certain lady in the lead of his film in a situation that goes beyond his comprehension.
I had only heard good things about this film and was exciting to see it have a repeat showing recently at a local art cinema. I knew that at some point in the film it goes haywire and is hard to follow, but I didn't realise just how LITTLE sense it would actually make! I am still struggling now to try and piece it together  trying to work out how all the strands fit together and also which are real and which are not  if any! This is part of the reason I enjoyed the film  it engaged my brain. If you don't pay attention you don't stand a chance  even fully focused I was getting lost by the end.
This is a typical Lynch film  weird, unsettling and not always making sense. His direction is superb. The whole film has a sinister, discomforting feel to menace to it. From his flash edits to his use of Twin Peaks' style velvet curtains and weird characters, the whole thing feels uncomfortable and on-edge. I'm not always a fan of his work but here I was spell bound. The story is confusing, almost deliberately so, but the telling is masterful. I felt like I was only in the cinema for an hour  it went so fast. I was spell bound with a sort of breathless wonder as to where the story was going. The downside was that it is slightly frustrating to be left with no concrete answers at the end. For me the ride and the way my brain has been left working made it worthwhile but I suspect many viewers will either be bemused or frustrated by the incoherence in the film. The more I think about it the more I see how cleverly layered the film is  I think I have found the `real' element of the story but I can't discuss it without spoilers and these pages are already full of ideas and theories without me adding to them. Suffice to say that things in the `real' story echo through the rest giving you clues to the real bits.
The two leads are very good. Watts especially impresses as her character changes throughout the film well. Bates is good but in later stages appears to be more focused on using her chest than her skills. Theroux is a typically Lynchian actor and does well, but the real gold is in the raft of strange characters who float around most whose significance are never fully explained (if at all). The tramp `who is causing all this', the cowboy, the guys in the diner, the sinister movie executives. All add layers to Lynch's disturbing story.
Overall I really enjoyed this film. I enjoyed it afterwards, thinking about it. I enjoyed surfing the net and talking to friends about it. More than everything I enjoyed the sheer experience of watching the film. The plot will grip you (but don't get frustrated  be patient and be ready to think for hours after) and the sheer unsettling nature of Lynch's direction will make you as uneasy and as frightened as the male dreamer in the diner describes himself to be as he confronts `the beast' which is the truth behind the whole damn thing. Simply wonderful but not for everyone.