Mulholland Drive

I just got done writing a review for Blue Velvet, and already I feel like I'm going to be writing the same things over and over again. However, this film I can easily say, I enjoyed much, much more.

This film is twisted and requires a lot of patience. I remember when we first showed this film in my film club here on the university. When the film was over (and this is the only film we have ever had to do this for) we brought out an overhead projector, and outlined what had actually happened in the film. Let me explain:

Think of a dream you've had. Think of how each day you walk around and see little things everywhere: a bottle here, and phone there, and a pencil there. But in your dream, each of these daily objects you've witnessed hours ago, seem to play a significant role in your dream plot.

Well, that's what Mulholland Drive seems to be. It's a dream like world wrapped around the plot of a woman who moved to LA to become a film star.

Lynch, though, hates LA, and his theme is easily identified through his filmic criticism of the pains and horror that some face when coming to the big city to become successful. We learn that Betty/Diane (their names switch half way through...) came to LA to become big in film. She tried her hardest, and fell in love with a woman. For some time, they held a relationship, and worked together. But soon, the popular actress fell in love with a director, and left Betty/Diane (played by Naomi Watts) to wallow. Watts hires a hit to kill her past lover, and slowly goes insane...

That's the best I can do with writing about this film in terms of plot. If you do decide to see it (assuming that you haven't) be ready to watch for every damn detail out there, and be as patient as you possibly can. This is a mystery that gives you only a few clues, and it's up to you to figure out what happened. It's not like most films where, in the last 10 minutes, some witty little detective narrates the whole story: you're the detective, and if you can't solve it... you'll have to go somewhere else to figure out what happened. Keep that in mind.

But let me talk about acting for a moment. This film has a diverse set of characters, and a diverse set of acting. And this is always something that I appreciate. Especially when all the characters seem to switch into different people, all their acting changes to suite who they've become. Hats off to those actors, even Naomi.

And the cinematography is quite interesting. Pay particular attention to the color blue. Like several other films, color does play a role in unlocking the secrets that surround this film. Blue seems to represent failure, or death. Watch the film, and see where these colors come into play. Red, though not as common, also comes into play. And it's done well, which is again a big plus.

Though Lynch's other films seemed to lack on the professional side, this film seems to take another step towards the camera, and takes us off into the dream word of Diane.

Please be cautioned, that this film is not for those that are into short flicks that are there to entertain. This film requires a lot of post film thought, and without it, the film suffers. It's intelligent writing, and though I don't want to get into it here, has layer upon layer of hidden meaning about the hardships of LA, the film industry, and the stress of the American ideal of career, and image. To me, this is an 8.2 of 10. But I can easily say that this will not be true for everyone. Of course, all my reviews are that way. It's a dream world; I say over and over again, that David Lynch has brought us. Filled with conspiracy, sex, love, passion and mystery that may, or may not be solved.

8 of 10