out of
* Spoiler Warning: Plot elements are described in this review *
Rarely in my years of watching movies have I ever second-guessed my opinion of a film. Mulholland Drive, however, did just that. After hearing the film received numerous awards as well as places on critics' top ten lists nationwide, I decided that perhaps I missed something. Now that I've seen it again, do I feel differently? Surprisingly, yes. So then, is Mulholland Drive a brilliant, great film? No. Is it a good, intriguing puzzle? Yes. Is it one of the best pictures of the year? Hardly. But underneath all the enigmas and mysterious incidences lies a heartfelt love story. The only problem is you have to really pay attention to see it.
David Lynch has never been an easy filmmaker to figure out. While critics applauded his Blue Velvet, I found it cheap and manipulative. And when they hated Lost Highway, I found the puzzle-box story enticing and enjoyable. Mulholland Drive is different, and yet, the same. The plot is distorted and shuffled around the film, but it all does have a plot. To explain the plot simply is impossible. However, if you look closely, you'll notice a tragic love story at the core of the film.
Mulholland Drive begins in dreamland. A mysterious woman rides in her limo down Mulholland Drive, only to be stopped and, at gunpoint, asked to exit the vehicle. This is thwarted when a speeding car slams into the limo, killing two men and leaving the woman with amnesia. She wanders down into Los Angeles and hides out in an apartment. At the same time, our heroine Betty (Naomi Watts) is just arriving, her eyes filled with hope of being a star. She just so happens to be staying in said apartment, and discovers the amnesiac woman, who is now calling herself Rita. Inside Rita's purse is a huge chunk of money, and a blue key. This sparks a Nancy Drew-like investigation as Betty and Rita try to figure out the mystery. This mystery will lead them to a Diane Selwyn, a dead body, a movie audition, and a psychic who claims "something is wrong!"
Meanwhile, filmmaker Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) is filming a new high-profile film. The leading role is up for grabs, but he is forced by mysterious beings to choose Camille Rhodes. Betty just so happens to turn up for an audition, but never gets her shot as she runs from the set to help Rita. Would Kesher have chosen Betty? We'll never know. Then again, it doesn't matter. About 90 minutes into the film, Betty and Rita engage in a lesbian sex scene (which, at first glance, seems pointless and exploitative). They then head to a club to watch a strange show, involving a Spanish rendition of "Crying". After the show, they discover a blue box in Betty's purse. As Rita opens the box, Betty vanishes, and then Rita gets sucked into the box. On second viewing, I've determined this all is just a dream (a long 90 minute dream). Betty now awakens, only her name is really Diane Selwyn. And Rita? Her name is actually Camille Rhodes. At this point, the film comes into focus and begins to make sense.
My own interpretation revolves around the simple idea that this is all merely a tragic love story, where true love can not exist. Diane fell in love with Camille, only to have her heart broken. Diane, not accepting this lightly, has an emotional (and psychotic) breakdown. She often sees herself sleeping with Camille, only it isn't really happening. Is the dream, then, Diane's fantasy? Camille could not love Diane because she was a big movie star. In Diane's dream, Camille loses her memory, forcing her to a level below Diane. Camille is now dependant on Diane, while in the real world, it is the other way around. Does this all fit? Perhaps. When Diane kills herself, the plot does seem to doubleback on itself and forces us to question what we originally thought. Did Diane (as Betty) see herself dead? Was it a psychic premonition of things to come? Maybe. Perhaps the only person to answer these questions is Lynch himself.
Unfortunately, the film is not perfect. It does hold the attention, despite some very lackluster moments. My biggest complaint with the film is perhaps irrelevant to the film as it is now (and really, it should be lodged against ABC and not Lynch, but Lynch insisted on finishing this mess). Lynch, creating the first 90 minutes for a TV series, knew this story would go on for some 22 hours. All these plot elements and vexing characters had an original purpose. But when ABC pulled the plug, there went all that work. Should Lynch have scrapped it? Probably. Since he didn't, we instead get what is probably more convoluted than anything we might have seen had he been allowed to produce the series. While for most this won't distract from the viewing, I kept wondering what Lynch originally meant all this to mean. Sure, it's my problem, but this is also my review.
Mulholland Drive is no doubt a David Lynch film. Just watching it, you could guess he produced it without prior knowledge. His style is unique and as a filmmaker, he can enthrall your imagination with the best of them. The technical aspects are superb, especially the eerie and atmospheric camerawork. The deep, dark color scheme works well to enhance the mystery; in particular, it makes the "Silencio!" scene watchable. The music is suitably haunting, also adding to the mystery. I can only imagine what editor Mary Sweeney had to work with (though, also as a producer, she must have had faith in Lynch).
The cast is quite up to the challenge of dealing with all of Lynch's wild oddities. Naomi Watts gives a brave performance and she needs to make us believe in both her characters--we do, which helps ground some of the off-the-wall plot twists. Better still is Laura Harring as the amnesiac star. Harring has an ethereal quality about her through most of the film, and the camera loves to film her face. Justin Theroux is underused but manages to make an impression as the Hollywood director wildly out of control of his own film. Ann Miller makes an appearance as a landlady who gives ominous warnings to our two heroines. The film also contains numerous cast members, including Dan Hedaya, Robert Forster, and Billy Ray Cyrus, but they have such short scenes you wonder why they were even in the film. Thankfully, Watts and Harring work well together and keep our attention throughout most of the film.
Mulholland Drive is rated R for violence, language and some strong sexuality. This is definitely a strange film and it is difficult to review. The fanatics will look to decipher all of Lynch's enigmas and clues, but the average filmgoer will be out of the loop on this one. I can't say this is the great film critics are touting it as, but I can't say it's a bad one either. It just is the way it is. You will either like it, or you won't. For me, I'm just disappointed that we won't see Lynch's whole story. This is merely the starting point for Lynch, and he was forced to wrap up the project in a way that upsets the normal weirdness of what it started as. It's a shame too... this could have been one of the most inventive TV shows for struggling ABC. Too bad for them. As it stands, this is merely a good film, but definitely one worth watching twice.
| Rating: out of
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© 2001 Boyd Petrie |