Lynch is a genius

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2003)

*Possible Spoilers Within*
I can't quite work out whether I love or hate this movie, and I think that's how it's supposed to be; there are those who love it and those who hate it, and those like me, who just can't make up their mind because they're still absolutely bewildered by it.
Up until about 90 minutes into this film, I was sitting there, quietly enjoying it, very comfortable in my rather naive assumption that all the bizarre loose ends and non-sensical information would be made sense of in the end. Unlike my brother, I didn't make the mistake of opening the DVD case and looking at Lynch's "clues" to solve the mystery and so I was quite happy believing that it would unravel itself to me. Boy, was I wrong.
But why should that make me hate it? The film is extremely well made, and it's thoroughly original. In fact, it is one of the most unique films of all time. The script is intriguing, the direction captivating, the performances stunning. And yet, has there ever been a film that leaves you with a more hollow and unfulfilled feeling than Mulholland Drive?
I don't know. I'm not hear to answer or, indeed, ask any questions, but I have to say that whichever way you look at it, David Lynch is indeed, and undeniably, a genius. He's written a piece so dazzling and startling in its complexity that it is doubtful it will ever be solved. He forces us to give it a double-take, a second viewing, and then a third and a fourth. And after four we begin to get the feeling that there is no solution. Just like those conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination, there is not one theory that completely answers every clue, and there never will be. I am sure that Lynch himself doesn't know the answer to this movie; all he knows is that he's sitting in a room in Hollywood next to a huge sack of money labelled "Mulholland Drive Subsequent Rentals" with a huge grin on his face. He wins in so many ways with this film, because it is just that, a winner. Five stars out of five.