rating:
(out of
4 stars)France, United States; 2001
Directed by David Lynch; produced by Neal Edelstein, Tony Krantz, Michael Polaire, Alain Sarde, Mar ySweeney; written by David Lynch
Starring Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Ann Miller, Dan Hedaya, Justin Theroux, Robert Forster
David Lynch: love him, or hate him. With 'Mulholland Dr.' he succesfully does what he tried with 'Lost Highway'. It is "a love story in the city of dreams" as the tagline tells us, and I think it should be taken literally. The film jumps from one episode to the next, all related in one way or another, but in the same way single scenes from a dream relate to one another. In the end there is some logic to be found, but don't expect answers to clear up all that has been seen before.
A car crash on Mulholland Dr. sets things in motion. Survived by a woman, about to be killed right before, she walks down and falls asleep in a house in Hollywood. Betty (Naomi Watts) arrives at the same house. It belongs to her aunt, who is out of town. When the woman wakes up she does not know who she is, but calls herself after Rita Hayworth. In her purse Rita (Laura Elena Harring) finds a lot of cash and a blue key. Together with Betty, who thinks of all this as a big adventure, she starts searching for her real identity.
We also meet a film director named Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux), who is told by some weird men, including The Cowboy, to recast the leading female part. He crosses paths with Betty when she is out on an audition and is taken to a set where several actresses perform songs such as "Sixteen Reasons" and "I've Told Every Little Star". All these scenes are shown as if they belong in television or bad films. Not that the scenes are bad on themselves. In fact, the strength of the film lies in the single sequences. Even though some people will not understand the bigger picture (maybe only Lynch himself does that), the parts are great on their own.
I loved this film. I was intrigued and fascinated from start to finish and I would not have mind if the film went on and on. Too much guessing spoils the experience, as I noticed the second and third time I saw it. Going along with it is the right thing to do here. Lynch directs this film with great confidence, playing the field of multiple genres, often at once. It is a noirish kind of thriller, but throws in melodramatic, erotic and even musical elements. The final third of the film kind of explains the why of this.
Watts and Harring are outstanding in their parts. Besides Lynch's direction both the cinematography by Peter Deming and score from Angelo Badalamenti stand out. Especially the second time I saw the film I realized how important the music is. 'Mulholland Dr.' is a big mystery, and one of the most entertaining examples never really completely solved.