WAY out there

Rating: Null/10 (21 April 2002)

Roger Ebert wrote the following sentence, which I think nails my thoughts right on the head: I suspect the best way to appreciate "Mulholland Drive" is simply to experience it as a series of scenes, each one with a power and consistency of its own, that do not "add up" to a logical plot summary, or cannot be reduced to an explanation--although various patterns and narratives form out of the mist and then evaporate.
I was with the film for the first hour and fifty five minutes, then it dove off the proverbial cliff. I continued to try and make sense of what was happening over the last half hour, but realized pretty quickly that it wasn't going to make sense.
I don't think I'd have a problem with someone blasting this film for being outrageously self indulgent and for not making a shred of sense in the end. Lynch certainly walks the line, and one could argue he crosses it way too many times. As for me, I'll take the high road. It almost seems to me like Lynch made this 2 1/2 hour film from a four hour script. The imaginary four hour script probably would make sense. Then, he cut two hours out of the script and scattered a half and hours worth of dreamlike sequenses throughout that bear some resemblance to the original story, but not much. The result is...well, I'm not sure. But it was a great experiment, I thought. Hard to give it a grade. It's as close to a pass/fail film as has ever been made. If you wanted to see other films like this, check out The Day of The Locust and Don't Look Now, both made in the seventies. I hated both of them, and gave them "failing" grades. I enjoyed Mulholland Drive, even though it didn't make any more sense than either of those films. I'll give it an "A-" because that accurately describes my level of enjoyment.
Probably the most fascinating thing about this film is all the plotlines that were underdeveloped or dropped altogether. How about the cops investigating the accident? Or the director and the guys forcing their casting choice on him? Or the director's wife? What was the deal with that? It was incredibly audacious of Lynch to throw these things out there, but somehow it fits right in with the rest of the film. Certainly a memorable film experience.