Unique

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2014)

David Lynch's 2001 film Muholland Drive is a mystifying thrill ride that consistently challenges audiences with its ambitious non-linear narrative structure and superbly handled dialogue. In terms of the plot, the less said the better: a woman finds herself in the city of dreams to find that the key to a mystery lies somewhere on Mulholland Drive. What was originally intended to be a made for TV pilot, the film is left unexplained by the director also, with Lynch encouraging audiences to interpret the narrative in their own way and come to their own conclusions.
On a technical level the film is flawless. Lynch supremely handles passionate sex sequences along with horrifying and haunting set pieces with the skill to wholeheartedly justify his Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Furthermore, the abandonment of coherence within the narrative is glued together by the well-written screenplay, also Lynch's work, which allows audiences to always engage with what they're seeing, even if it doesn't make sense upon first viewing.
Perhaps this film's greatest triumph however is its ability to combine its technical brilliance with character that audiences feel genuinely attachment to. Undoubtedly this can be due to the performances from Justin Theroux, Laura Harring and a career-best showing from Naomi Watts, all of which add a sense of heart and realism to the twisted and uncertain world audiences are presented with.
Mulholland Drive is an indescribable, underrated and engaging stroke of genius from Lynch, being both incredibly engaging upon first viewing, but also being so damningly inconclusive that repeated viewings are joyfully inevitable.