A meticulously crafted, mind-bending masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2019)

Mulholland Drive is an incredibly divisive movie; everyone seems to view it either as a masterpiece or an abomination, and this is understandable, as it is extremely confusing and subtle. Most confusing movies give enough clues and clear plot points to formulate a theory, although it still takes a lot of thought to piece together these clues. Mulholland Drive still gives these clues, but they're very subtle; it's hard to tell what's important, what isn't and how all these seemingly unconnected occurrences all connect. The narrative is far from conventional too, and this only adds to the mystery.
This makes it quite clear why this movie is so divisive, because on first appearance, it can seem severely disjointed, incoherent and simply a mess, if you try to view it as a straightforward narrative. Nothing is made clear to the viewer, and so much is kept a mystery for so long, that it is completely understandable as to why it is such a frustrating and pointless movie to some, however I felt myself intrigued throughout. The constant mystery and subtle hints made me very interested and entertained for the whole movie; it always gave enough information to keep the viewer interested, but not a single bit more. The final 15-20 minutes gives many answers, but creates even more questions, the answers to which are all alluded to within the movie. Many criticise David Lynch of having no idea of what he was doing, and view this movie as only being liked because people think they are finding meaning in what is merely an incomprehensible mess, and I understand how people would think this given the subtlety of the clues and plot, and if you approach the movie thinking it's going to have a straightforward narrative then you will come out disappointed and confused. However, the clues are there, and David Lynch has crafted this movie so carefully and precisely that if you put a lot of thought into it afterwards, you will be able to put together your own theory and ideas.
As for the other aspects of the movie, the cinematography is spectacular, particularly in one standout scene early in the movie, in which the camera is used effectively to create maximum tension. I was apprehensive about the acting at first, mainly due to Naomi Watts' character, as it felt a little forced and unnatural, but soon I realised that it was just the character's personality and she displayed some great acting throughout the movie. The musical score was great too, and overall everything was incredibly well done, I didn't feel that anything dragged down the quality,
But of course, the standout feature was the plot, which was masterfully crafted with intense precision to elicit intrigue, and remain in the minds of the viewers for a long time afterwards. It truly is a masterful, if often misunderstood movie, which I believe fully deserves its praise.