Amazing

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2002)

I bought and watched the DVD of this movie for the first time recently and was shocked and amazed.
I am a major fan of David Lynch films, and yet Mulholland Drive managed to catch me off guard and present me with a truly terrifying, cynical and quirky masterpiece containing some brilliant moments.
Naomi Watts was outstanding. I barely recognised her from her soap opera career here in Australia. She truly gave an amazing performance and showed a very wide scope and variety. Her brilliant performance made at least one outstanding and memorable scene.
There are some truly beautiful moments in this movie. There are also some delightfully quirky events, enveloped by an undertone of terror. I found myself on the edge of my seat the entire time, wondering what was going to happen next, how long it would take, and how creepy it would be.
The usual David Lynch signatures make their appearance: the room with red curtains, the stage, the mysterious and bizarre characters, the transformation of characters, and the slow, drawn out pacing. I found that it heavily references Lynch's previous works, such as Lost Highway (1997), which also features Los Angeles and the road named Mulholland Drive. I really cannot give away anything else. The movie makes an abrupt transition half way through and I still don't know what is going on.
Certainly I have not pieced together the plot yet - I have been told it takes multiple viewings to do so. I look forward to it.
The bad points? There were just two moments of the film where I sat back and thought "that's been done before."
The movie is very long and tense. Clear your mind before you see this. Also, make sure you don't watch this movie with somebody who has seen it before. 9 out of 10.