dream logic

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2002)

Where to start.
I think I've seen it five times now, and I can't get enough of it. It somehow demands to be seen again, and I can't put my finger on why. So I'll stick to telling you what I know.
Things I love about Mulholland Drive: 1) The way it looks. It's one of the best-shot films I've seen in several years. I can't remember seeing such seductively vivid colours in a movie, and the camera work contributes a great deal to the ominous mood (kudos to Peter Deming).
2) Angelo Badalamenti's invaluable music, which comes out dark whether it's foreboding or up tempo.
3) Naomi Watts, who apparently wholly embraced Lynch's vision and came up with a great, nuanced interpretation of her character.
4) Justin Theroux's witty performance. He seemed to be on the same wavelength as Lynch, and he really inhabits his character.
5) Finally, what makes Mulholland Drive the experience that it is, is that it casts a spell. There's no better way to put it, but this is what David Lynch does when he's at his best (Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, the Twin Peaks episodes he directed). He creates moments that can only be described as film poetry. Moments he imbues with a mysterious, unexplainable power, such as a man in a diner describing a nightmare he had; Betty's audition scene; the moment when Betty and Adam's eyes lock on the movie set; or Betty and Rita's oddly emotional experience in the club Silencio.
All that being said, I could have lived without Mr. Roque and the Cowboy, characters probably meant to add to the film's mood of mystery, whose too-obvious oddness instead ends up disrupting said mood.