Mulholland Dr.

Mulholland Dr. (2001) - 10/10

First Viewed: 4/22/08
Directed by David Lynch
Starring Naomi Watts as Betty, Laura Harring as Rita, and Justin Theroux as Adam Kesher

David Lynch, the director of such bizarre work as Blue Velvet, has crafted something that may very well be a masterpiece. And I say "may be" because the film, with its two-hours and thirty-minute running time, does not make any sense until the very end.

The basic premise of the film is that Betty, a promising new actress who has just arrived in Hollywood, discovers that another woman already inhabits her bungalow. Rita, as we learn in a bizarre opening sequence, is an actress who is the target of a shady, omniscient entity that controls the inner workings of Hollywood. She has taken refuge in the bungalow and suffers from amnesia as a result of this incident. Betty, who has a perpetually winsome demeanor and an unsettling, naive curiosity, subsequently decides to help Rita figure out her identity.

I cannot describe the rest of the premise very well because there is no "normal" plot beyond this point. Here are some of the plot points, just to provide a taste of what occurs: There is a hit job that goes wrong, we discover a monster lurking behind a Denny's-like restaurant, we follow the director Adam Kesher and his dealings with the mysterious Hollywood entity, and we witness a terrifying presentation at a run-down theater. There is no need to worry if none of that makes any sense. Lynch initially grabs our attention with what appears to be a traditional plot, but we soon discover that the plot is hardly essential; the film serves only to evoke our visceral feelings. It is a very different approach, an adventure in which we allow Lynch to serve as our guide.

Mulholland Dr. may be the best representation of a dream-like state I have ever seen. A number of the sequences spontaneously shift from being "normal," to sexy, to absolutely terrifying. Lynch uses sound to a meticulously subtle and eerie effect and his unchained, impatient camera-work evokes a feeling of restlessness as these characters - and we, the voyeuristic audience - try to resolve this unconventional mystery. The film ultimately demonstrates the power of our dreams and their ability to influence our perception of reality. And like many dreams, Mulholland Dr. is both astonishing and horrific - a repository of our greatest aspirations and of our greatest fears.