A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2009)

This film's birth pangs as a failed TV pilot make the end result even more remarkable. Over a year later, Director David Lynch picks up the pieces (literally), shoots new scenes and then produces not only his finest film to date but one of the all - time greats of modern cinema.
Detailed analysis, and a fine double disc DVD set with abundant interviews, can be found elsewhere.But for the uninitiated, the story opens with a beautiful woman who staggers away from a car wreck with memory loss and the tale of how her subsequent fortunes intertwine with those of the young woman whose temporary home she stumbles across.
Twin female leads,Naomi Watts and Laura Harring offer tour de force performances as beautiful, mysterious, sexy and dangerous women seemingly skitting between reality and a strange, ethereal world which we cannot quite place.Nothing is quite what it seems, clues and false trails abound, ad the viewer is kept guessing till the end, and beyond.
A majestic music score,and stunning, lush, beautiful cinematography combines with a literate script and obtuse plot to create atmosphere, excitement and uncertainty.The girl's make-up and dress is invariably immaculate strenghtening the ambiguity of the story line.The irony that a film so removed from Hollywood convention should be set in Hollywood is sweet indeed.A masterpiece which will be appreciated by film students and aficionados for years to come.