Possible Lynch's BEST Movie

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2003)

**Possible Spoilers** David Lynch's extraordinary reworking of his aborted TV pilot may very well be his best film to date (with the possible exception of Blue Velvet). A famous Hollywood actress (Harring) is about to be killed by two thugs when the car they're in is smashed to smithereens in a freak accident. Everyone is killed, except her, and she walks off dazed into the night. Suffering from amnesia, she winds up taking refuge in a house, only to be discovered by a hopeful young actress (Watts) who's housesitting the place for her aunt. Together they attempt to find out who she is, and their journey takes them through the dream-like underworld of LA. A subplot involving a director (Theroux) getting into trouble with some gangsters over the lead actress in his latest movie is brilliantly wound into the narrative. It all leads up to an emotionally shattering and cerebral finale, reminiscent of Lynch's debut feature, Eraserhead.

Lush, dreamy photography, tricky editing and an unbelievably complex and multi-layered script (by Lynch) come together to create a unique cinematic experience. Performances are top notch, though Naomi Watts is a standout; Dan Hedaya and Robert Forster, though prominently featured in the opening credits, have less than five minutes of screen time between them, which has become an odd Lynch trademark (e.g. Crispin Glover in Wild at Heart; Jurgen Prochnow and David Bowie in Twin Peaks--Fire Walk With Me). Lynch himself supposedly appears somewhere in the film; sharp eyed viewers theorize he is the unrecognizable homeless man behind "Winkies".
Many viewers found this movie frustrating (I trust they are the same ones who are under the delusion that LOST HIGHWAY and ERASERHEAD don't make sense). The key to "reading" Lynch's more non-linear movies is to first realize that they're central theme is simple (though, I'm well aware how open to interpretation his movies are, so someone else may take a whole other spin on them). ERASERHEAD is about society's irrational, repressed fear of sex and sexuality. TWIN PEAKS FIRE WALK WITH ME is about the destructive trait of child abuse. LOST HIGHWAY is about a person's inability to escape paying for the consequences of their actions.
MULHOLLAND DR. is about a soul who's dismal, heart-breaking reality is escaped only by dreaming about what could have been, and the crushing return to real life which brings about her ultimate suicide. Look at it this way. The first three quarters of the movie are a dream. The last quarter is reality, remembered in quick bursts, and not necessarily in chronological order. Why is that so hard to understand? Think about this quote: "There's a broken heart for every light on Broadway." The same goes for Hollywood, a town full of broken dreams, shattered lives, betrayal and desertion. That is what MULHOLLAND DR. is about.
MULHOLLAND DR. is a brilliant movie. I'm sure it would have made a fine series, but I'm glad the plug was pulled, because it led to Lynch creating his masterpiece. Just watch it, don't fight it. Don't try to figure it out at the expense of experiencing the movie. Most movies are allegorical to a certain extent. Lynch's movies are simply more so than most. He doesn't spoon feed his audiences. He hands you a puzzle, and gives you all the information needed to solve it, but leaves it to you to put the pieces together. In other words, he assumes you're intelligent, patient and imaginative, and will come up with an interpretation of the movie. It may not be his, but it IS yours. THAT's the point.