An average TV movie warps into a striking cinematic experience; minor spoilers

Rating: Null/10 (24 February 2002)

Finally! It took some time, but Mulholland Drive has been released in Holland. Our little country always seems to be one of the last in these matters. Bring out your violin, indeed.
When I read the original teleplay for the pilot about a year and a half ago, I was a little put off by the long stretches of sophomoric dialogueÂ…and this Betty chick, o my stars! Did she give new meaning to the word naive or what?! Anyway, by the time I finished the script I was hooked, I really wanted to know where this was going. According to an early interview with Lynch, Adam and Betty would fall for each other and Betty and Diane would eventually swap places (!). I still felt that the script for the pilot might need some work, though.
Alas, ABC television hated Lynch's pilot and shelved it. Thanks to Alain Sarde, Lynch was able to put some sort of closure to it and release it as a feature. Lynch won a Best Director award in Cannes and is now nominated for an Academy award. I guess that, over at ABC, several heads are rolling.

When I finally had a chance to see the film a couple of days ago, it wasn't under ideal circumstances: I felt a bit under the weather and a couple of old bags on the row behind me were having their own little tea party.

The film starts rather wonderful, with candy colored images of a jitterbug contest, superimposed with P.O.V. images of someone passing out.
Then the material that was originally planned as a TV movie kicks in. And I dunno, I always more or less regarded the pilot for Twin Peaks as a "real movie" (it's in my top 10), but this felt as if Lynch had a case of director's block (hey, I invented a new phrase!). The pacing, the rhythm, the staging, and even the acting felt as if Lynch was desperately trying to make scenes work, but failed many times. Adam's meeting with the Castigliane brothers and Louise Bonner showing up at Betty's house are all examples of scenes in the first hour and a half that felt somewhat contrived and awkward, even the funny Joe the Hitman sequence appeared to be not everything it could have been. But Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring were great. Their acting, their characters, their adventures were interesting enough to follow. So far, an average TV movie with just a hint of fairy dust.
When Betty has her successful audition (which even managed to shut up those old bags on the row behind me), locks eyes with Adam, and enjoys her Nancy Drew games with Rita, things were getting more interesting.
Then, the pilot-part comes to an end, clearly marked by the 'This bed is big enough for the both of us' moment. Betty and Rita start to make out. It could have been, no it almost SHOULD have been gratuitous, but it is actually the first scene that really works one hundred percent. It's a very touching moment that rings true. From that scene on, till the end of the movie, Lynch seems to be having tremendous fun, the photography becomes exiting, the visual ideas breathtaking, the acting top notch. And, I have to say, I understood the warped final 30 minutes movie perfectly. Not with my intellect, but with my heart. The segment struck me as bona fide and exactly the way it should be. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen anymore. I loved every second and thought it was every bit as exiting as the experimental 'Jupiter and Beyond' sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
And, regarding Lynch's attitude to women: In Lynch's Blue Velvet, a character says: 'Am I a detective or a pervert? That's for me to know and for you to find out'. Same thing goes for Lynch, and maybe, well, maybe he's both. The archetype Lynch situation in this matter is the fantasy of hiding in a girl's closet as a way to find out more about her AND to have the chance to see her naked. Not as a prank a la "Porky's", but an extremely emotional fantasy of wanting to see a young innocent lady in peril, but still respecting her and caring a lot for her wellbeing. Er, does this make any sense or should the good doctors lock me up and throw away the key? People often compare MD with Lost Highway. Yes, they are somewhat similar, but LH missed something crucial. In his films, Lynch takes us through a world that looks a lot like ours, but where darkness, confusion and the loss of innocence reign. Our guides (or fellow travelers) are usually characters who are blessed with either an disarming small-town USA personality and a touching nativity (Blue Velvet); or a wonderfully wicked lifestyle, bursting with energy (Wild at Heart). People we instantly like and root for. Despite the suggestive title, Lost Highway is NOT a journey. It's devoid of any interesting characters. I couldn't care less about Fred, Renee, Pete, or Alice. Non of these characters were naive, or innocent. They were introvert, silent, and involved in crime and porn. It's a film as detached and joyless as all those stubborn people who tried to explain it.
Mulholland Drive starts as a good TV-movie and ends as one of the most striking cinematic experiences I have ever witnessed. I guess that if Mulholland Drive had been made directly for the theatre, it might have been a complete masterpiece.
First hour and a half: *** Final 45 minutes: **** (out of ****)