A string of well staged set pieces does not make a great movie.

Rating: Null/10 (21 August 2002)

(** out of *****)
While `Lost Highways' strung us along like the Lynch junkies we are - `Mulholland Dr.' is a painful experience that is only kept alive by the enormous performances of the lead cast and some memorable supporting roles.
The young and alive Betty (Naomi Watts) arrives in LA to try and get a job as an actress. Staying in her aunt's apartment she meets up with Rita (Laura Harring) who has lost her memory but has a ton of money on her and a single blue strange shaped key. The perfect mystery begins and Betty tries to help Rita discover her true identity.
The cause of film's failure is that it does not develop the devices that grabbed our attention at the start. There are many good ideas at play, yet Lynch decides to go down a route that we would find in one of the duller episodes of Twin Peaks (of which there where hardly any). However, `Mulholland Dr.' was originally a pilot episode for a now abandoned television series and this may explain the lack of development and the surprise that never comes. Clocking in at 145 minutes this film could well have been played out in 90.
Experimental it may be, but at the same time it is not a film that delivers on its promises. We don't mind wackiness, a story without meaning or quasi-dimensional worlds (that is why we watch Lynch movies!) but we do mind excellent ideas that are cast aside for more trivial and banal discoveries that serve no more of a function than to knit one scene to the next.. Arrrrggghhh it was amateur in so many ways. A sorry case of hit and miss.

The film is not all bad though. There are many funny moments, interesting predicaments and wonderful sets pieces. Notably, the hitman's attempt at keeping his work quiet, a scene involving a philosophical cowboy (keep an eye out because you see him once again oh yes!) and the weird concert.
All in all the film feels rough on the edges and has a rushed look to it. If only Lynch took the time out to just revise the script and give it the bump that it is crying out for, then I am sure we would all be watching it over and over again. It had all the ingredients but the Lynch cake just didn't bake this time.