A deep dive into a dream world - David Lynch at his very best

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2011)

Hollywood, the city where dreams come true. Yet the realities of the dream world have the tendency to eventually turn into a nightmare, a nightmare which is too real to be lived in... Welcome to a David Lynch picture, where nothing is as it seems, and Lynchian logic reigns to leave you befuddled, mystified, mouth agape when the curtain falls and silence spreads. Mulholland Drive is a movie which engulfs the viewer in its intricate mystery plot like no other and leaves you with a load of memorable, haunting or outright shocking images you will never forget. You might be caught off guard by the true nature of the underlying mystery, and the denouement will keep you mesmerized for sure, making a re-watch essential, yet rewarding experience. As often with an eccentric filmmaker's work, this is a movie to only get going in your head once it's already over, and if you're willing to get immersed in it.
Lynch's masterpiece invites to dig deeper, to uncover new layers, hidden references, multiple interpretations. The film is as psychologically profound as it is visually stunning and while it draws its fascination from what appears surreal at first glance, it is nevertheless firmly embedded in a reality that won't let us go, blood-curdling as it might turn out, a reality full of hopes, dreams, obsessions, fear, you name it. "Mulholland Drive" is packed with great imagery, dark humor, wonderful music and bizarre twists and turns and stars Naomi Watts in her most brilliant role. It's a blessing indeed that Mulholland Dr. as a TV series as Lynch original envisioned and pitched it, didn't happen and he had to rethink his ideas for a year - because that was when lightning struck. Pure movie magic. This one's a keeper.