A failure of a movie

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2012)

I've seen Mulholland Drive twice now. The first time I saw it, I severely disliked it: it was weird for weird's sake, and was so hell bent on confusion, that I had difficulty keeping up with it.
I did decide to give it a second go, because I had heard so many stories on IMDb and other online forums about how they hated it on first watch, and gradually fell in love with it on multiple watches. On second watch, it is far more clear and makes a lot more sense. I really wanted to fell in love with it, to make Mullholland Drive to enter my dreams and my nightmares, for it to have something to say. It doesn't. It isn't stimulating in any way, and the only thoughts it provoked were about the mystery, not any hidden message the film may have. It isn't thrilling at all. It isn't sexy, it isn't funny, it isn't effective. In the first hour or so- it was perfect, but the second half went drastically downhill, the narrative was made into shambles.
However, Mulholland Drive has some fantastic photography, the acting is great, and it can create some suspense. The rest is unfortunately- a mess.