Welcome to the mind of David Lynch

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2001)

Many words could describe "Mulholland Drive": interesting, unnerving, strange. I'll avoid throwing around terms like 'mind-bending' or 'original.' I can't tell if something is original if I don't completely understand it. It may be exactly like something else for all I know, were I to piece this all together. Something tells me I should be glad I don't understand the way David Lynch's mind works.
My suspicion is that Lynch neither wants, nor cares if the audience understands this. This is his vision. He had complete control over this project so what you see is exactly what he wants you to see. Audiences haven't seemed put off by the incomprehensible plot, if it can even be called a plot. I do know that there is sense to be made of this. Out there. Somewhere.
When we're first introduced to Naomi Watts' character, Betty, she's an aspiring actress just arriving in Hollywood, ready to go out on auditions. She describes to 'Coco' her landlady how she'd never even been out of Ontario before and now she's in this "dream place." That line floats over our heads with little consequence but it's the key to this whole thing. Los Angeles is a dream. It's realities are stranger than any fiction a lunatic could make up. The entire film is this character imagining the way things might have been, and remembering things that happened. This is all intermingled with real events she did not witness. At the end, you'll find yourself guessing what was real and what was imagined. And who people really are.
This project represents another personal triumph for this respected film artist. His best work is of the experimental kind, which "Mulholland" is. "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks" also come to mind. Lynch is pleased because he didn't have to compromise anything. He did not re-edit "Mulholland" to 'dumb it down' to a level that could be more easily understood by a larger portion of the audience. His last film was totally linear, simple, followed the rules, and was rated G. On his latest, Lynch more than makes up for these departures.
Somehow, and I believe this effect to be intentional, I didn't want it to end. The images and music, lighting, photography, performances, for some reason leave you wanting more. You're not anticipating where the story will go next but rather, what you'll see next, where you'll be taken next.
Lynch isn't trying to be weird. He just sees the world that much differently and happens to know how to translate that vision to film. I don't see a Best Picture nomination for this, but a Best Director Oscar nomination is likely, given Lynch's obvious control over this material and execution of his vision.
Though the story of "Mulholland Falls" is still lost to me, I have managed to figure out what it's about. If anyone else who reads this wants to contradict me, feel free--I have only begun my study of this film. Film history may show that this film is a manifestation of the way David Lynch sees the town in which he works. It's not a protest, but simply, one perspective. There have been many films about the clash between dreams and reality in Tinseltown. This is the Lynch version. There's nothing political or high-minded this, it's just pure unadulterated filmmaking. Lynch has outsmarted everyone except himself and that is what matters most.
Grade: A-