Great opening moments, but self-indulgence and audience disrespect take over!

Rating: 6/10 (13 March 2004)

On the outskirts of Los Angeles a car accident results in a stunning young woman wandering the neighbourhood suffering from amnesia. Hiding in a bush she takes the chance to enter the apartment house of a departing stranger.
David Lynch is a name that you almost have to pause after saying. He comes with more baggage than Elton John on a short skiing trip! While the man has something having (in my opinion) produced two great movies in The Elephant Man and Wild At Heart - and some others that are not at all bad. However he is in an extended period of disintegration and decay.
His direction of Dune (a simple action movie that Lynch treated like it was a talk piece!) made his name in to an industry joke. Careers have been ended for less. Naturally he blamed others!
I am a believer that the audience should have half a chance of understanding what is going on. At least things should be explained (hinted at even!) later. Lynch doesn't. I am not saying all cinema has to be linear, indeed many great movies are from that, but we deserve our chance because it is our money he wants (and don't tell him he doesn't because he tells interviewers that he is a staunch capitalist Republican).
The story of how this film came from a junked TV series is actually clear from the length of one the actresses hair. It wouldn't grow that much in the course of any movie shoot! TV execs wouldn't pick it up for a reason, the reason being that you have to know what you are buying - how could they be anything other than confused? Only French (the people that think Jerry Lewis is a genius remember!) money saved the day.
This world is full of movies and the fact that this is mediocre isn't anything unusual. The tragedy is that this could have been a classic with more control and better editing. The opening is really quite excellent and I hoped that Lynch had learnt his lesson and could keep it going, but no, he gets bored with it and starts his weirdness for the sake of weirdness trip. It isn't even original weirdness just bits culled from previous products.
As we reach the end Lynch has decided that we don't even have to see what is going on and the soundtrack goes muddy at some points too. These things would be considered amateurish in other people's products, but skimmed over in the minds of many friendly critics. Before I try and solve a puzzle I have to believe that the puzzle is worth solving. This movie that isn't worth solving because no matter how much work you put in, I am sure I would find parts left over. There is no answer only theories.
I am sad that the chance of a great movie has been wasted rather like a man stranded on a dessert island that has chopped up a boat to make a raft out of it. He prefers a raft to a boat - but should he be applauded for it?