Great filmmaking, but not a great film

Rating: Null/10 (18 February 2003)

I know how many people love the films of David Lynch, and for good reason. He is a wonderfully intuitive director, a proven great visual stylist, and his films do have impact.
I have enjoyed Blue Velvet, Eraserhead and Lost Highway.
However, I have now seen Mulholland Drive three times, and each time, I find myself disliking it more and more. Yet all of my friends who I watch it with, can't understand why that is. At first, I didn't know why either, but now I believe I do.
The entire film lacks so much structure, that it seems to become simply a collection of odd charicatures, and hanging plot threads. At least in Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, where plot was also in the background, those films left me with a sense of completion. That tacked on ending really ruins the film for me. I think Mulholland Drive would have made a very interesting television series, but as a film, it is like a Whopper, smooth and polished on the outside, but all damaged, and flaky on the inside. Everytime I see this film, I keep thinking that if it ended before Lynch's tacked on ending with a "tune in next week" caption, it would have made a perfect pilot. It amazes me to see how many critics have praised such a disjointed, fractured film.
Maybe I just have to keep watching it until I come around. It took me four times to see Fargo before I realized its brilliance. :)