Mulholland Drive Review
by Aleksandar Zambelli (IHATESPAMzambelli AT posluh DOT hr)February 4th, 2002
Movie Review:
"Mulholland Drive"
Copyright (c) 2001 Aleksandar Zambelli
Originally published in The Crimson, a Florida Tech student publication.
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux
Genre: thriller / fantasy
There are two kinds of people in the world. The first kind are those that enjoy and (attempt to) understand David Lynch's films. The other group are those who don't comprehend him at all and therefore assume that he's full of crap and that his fans are just a bunch of pretentious idiots. Yet, such a situation is not surprising. Lynch is one of the very few American directors whose movies require a certain adjustment period. To understand and enjoy his films one must learn to accept Lynch's peculiar logic, which is present throughout his entire opus.
"Mulholland Drive" starts with a car accident involving a tall brunette named Rita (Laura Harring). Dazed and apparently amnesiac, she stumbles down to Hollywood's Mulholland Drive where she finds refuge in an empty apartment. Next morning, a young blonde, Betty, arrives to Los Angeles in pursuit of an acting career. She stays at her aunt's empty apartment - which doesn't appear to be empty anymore. She finds Rita there, realizes her predicament and decides to help her out. Simultaneously, young director Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux - "I Shot Andy Warhol," "American Psycho") loses his leading actress in a movie project and decides to hold new auditions for a replacement. However, higher interests are in play as local mobsters get involved. They try to force Adam into hiring one of their own actresses and snubbing all the other candidates, among which is also Betty. Meanwhile, Betty and Rita play detectives in an effort to find out more about Rita's true identity. As they follow one of the leads they arrive at an apartment complex where in one of the apartments they find a dead body of a young woman strikingly resembling Betty. Events suddenly take a strange twist; Adam's life turns into hell, a lesbian affair between Betty and Rita unfolds, Rita unexpectedly disappears, general weirdness follows and suddenly you realize Mr. Lynch has pulled the rug from underneath you and you have been pulled into his dreamlike universe.
"Mulholland Drive" was originally envisioned as a TV series. David Lynch ("Twin Peaks," "Blue Velvet," "The Straight Story") shot a 100-minute long pilot for ABC, but ABC rejected the project. Lynch wasn't ready to let go of his idea, so he shot another half hour of footage and made "Mulholland Drive" into a movie. This becomes rather obvious while watching the movie, as the plot line of "Mulholland Drive" tends to be more episodic and scattered than in rest of Lynch's films. As usual, Lynch casts little known actors, but his direction is so focused and strong that the actors really can't go wrong. Even Naomi Watts' portrayal of the naïve girl from the Midwest is very soap-opera-like at first glance, but the ending of the movie reveals a purpose behind it. Her acting, just like everything else, fits perfectly into Lynch's purposely bubble gum picture of Hollywood.
David Lynch is the Master of Strange. The common element in all of his movies is that the worlds depicted in them all have a well-polished façade, but also an extremely dark underside. Lynch spends a great deal of time introducing us to his world and its characters. Once we get a good grip of what's going on, he abruptly pulls the rug beneath us and turns the entire world upside down. This is exactly what makes his movies so alluring. We come to expect from him that familiar "Lynch element" which, sure enough, always lurks behind a corner, ready to leap out as soon as we turn out heads the other way.
Perhaps the only problem with "Mulholland Drive," as classic a Lynch film as it might be, is that it's not new. The themes of escaping reality through fantasy, with guilt as the ultimate human alarm clock, have all been seen before in David Lynch's previous film "Lost Highway." "Mulholland Drive," however, is much easier to follow and more audience friendly. Yet, "Mulholland Drive" so strongly resembles "Lost Highway" that it could easily earn the nickname "Lost Highway Light." On the other hand, a good idea is always a good idea, so I can't entirely blame Lynch for giving it another shot.
The art of David Lynch was always an acquired taste, but "Mulholland Drive" is friendly enough that it might serve to many as an entry point into Lynch's dark nightmarish universe. A must for all established fans and a definite no-no for everyone who hated "Twin Peaks," "Mulholland Drive" is nonetheless one of the best movies that 2001 had to offer.
Score: 9/10
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