There's only one David Lynch!

Rating: 10/10 (14 January 2002)

For 25 years David Lynch has been carving out a niche for himself as a true surrealist. His films are unique in their vision, aesthetic and atmosphere. His latest, Mulholland Drive, is right out of the top draw. To give anything away would be a crime other than to say that this started as a TV pilot so we get a bit of explanation of the main characters, or do we? Along the way we are treated to a dwarf mastermind, the mob, lots of phones ringing, a mysterious box, a diner which acts as a vortex to some other reality, a cool movie director, a mysterious corpse, a man having bad dreams, a monster in an alleyway, a grungy hit-man, a fat woman getting shot in the ass, keys, Billy Ray Cyrus, an impossibly happy old couple, unrequited love, jealousy, sex, a mysterious nightclub, Roy Orbison in Spanish, an oracle like cowboy Hollywood archetypes. They're all here and all connected but Lynch doesn't tell us how or why, That's for us to work out. God bless him! This film is definitely a cryptic jigsaw puzzle which will give you a headache trying to figure it out. Just sit back and watch the most original and bizarre talent cinema has given us at full strength. If, on the other hand, Forest Gump is your idea of great cinematic art, stay the hell away. Mulholland drive is not for everybody, but if you like to be challenged, baffled, seduced, stimulated and entertained all at once then go and see it now! You won't see a better film all year.