Full of magic

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2006)

I started watching this film completely unprepared and it blew me away. The magic of everything about this movie, from the twists of the plot to acting to camera work is simply amazing... I watched it all over that same night and then two more times the next day and still loved it. Only later did I learn about David Lynch and his other work so now I can see where all this came from.
I did feel there was something fishy about the acting in the first part of the movie but after the plot took that unexpected twist, everything fell in place... Well, almost everything... Well, no, not really. Lynch leaves much to viewers to make sense of. If you prefer the type of movies where at the end you get all the answers, then stay away from this one. It left me searching for clues and interpretations which I am leaving out to avoid spoilers. The tag line for this movie may have well been "Nothing is what it seems to be"... or wait, did I steal it from somewhere? It did remind me a lot of "Memento", one of my all-time favorites, although I am pretty sure they were conceived independently.
One more thing. (I should start with that, really.) Naomi Watts' talent is unbelievable! The way she transforms several (I counted six or seven) times in this movie, transforms literally beyond recognition, is absolutely amazing. The way she looks at Camilla as they walk uphill towards the party... and then her face at the party... and almost immediately at the diner... And her audition earlier in the movie?! Oh. My. God. I know of few actresses who can be this versatile. If you know her only from "The Ring" and "King Kong", you gotta see her in this one.