Powerful, spellbinding David Lynch film

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2011)

Mulholland Dr.-***1/2- Excellent- Directed by: David Lynch. Written by: David Lynch, Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Scott Wulf, Robert Forster, Brent Briscoe, Dan Hedaya, Michael Des Barres, Billy Ray Cyrus, Katharine Towne, Lee Grant, James Karen, Chad Everett.
Lynch directs yet another bizarre, steamy, and overall masterful thriller about a young actress (Watts in her best performance yet) who arrives in Hollywood with big dreams when she meets an amnesiac woman (Harring) who is involved in a complex and disturbing mystery.
Surreal like the body of most of Lynch's work but this is one of his best films. The mystery of the film is what grabs us. Lynch's use of first person point of view and slowly zooming up on objects give us a great feeling of dream-like horror. It is Hitchcock-type suspense until the first two-thirds are over. Then it dives into pure Lynch originality full of disturbing violent images and shocking eroticism.
Watts's character changes from a friendly and bubbly young lady to a dark and perverted woman. Her character completely changes and if we look at this change of character or the plot in general as consistent, then it will make no sense. Lynch's film may be one whole dream though I believe it that Watts's original personality was the dream and her other personality was her reality, but she refused to accept it.
The plot can be interpreted multiple ways but what is undeniable is Lynch's strength in dream-like eroticism which he effectively displays through the relationship between Watts and Harring. He is also great in his satirical points on his portrait of contemporary Hollywood, which is a contradiction of his usual small town setting. This is a great thriller with excellent performances by all and a filmmaker with plenty of dream-like images that are frighteningly realistic.