Mulholland Dr.
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Movie Reviews of Mulholland Dr.
Movie Review: Surreal & revealing glimpse into the Los Angeles Odyssey
Summary: 5 Stars
Ah, Los Angeles. A thousand tales have already been told about the City of Dreams, and no wonder, with it being the most famous and faux-fabulous community of this modern age. Some of these tales revel in grace and glamour, simply adding to the in-progress legend, while other storytellers attempt to deconstruct the façade, showing us the grit and grimy desperation seething under the surgeon-smiles and six-figure cars. David Lynch's noir-ish _Mulholland Drive_ joins this latter group, and if you really pay attention while watching, you'll find that it makes sense - all of it -- even with just one viewing. Massive in scope and brilliant in conception, _Mulholland Drive_ is, at its heart, a sad allegory of the quest for fame. It's disturbing how much power actually exists in LA. The bulk of American media information/entertainment originates, via television and film, from this concrete patchwork of smog and sensual overload: it programs millions to laugh, cry, fear; it titillates us with trends, slyly winks as it snatches bill after bill from the wallet. It sells illusions, that most sought-after commodity; and illusions are infectious.
Near the beginning we are treated to Naomi Watts descending from an airport terminal, blue eyes a-glow with the myriad possibilities that confront her: a perfect cornfed image of Hollywood hope. She has been given some encouragement by an elderly couple, who say they will `watch out for her movie--' it's sweet, sincere, until the elderly couple get into a cab, upon which they both break into sinister chuckling. They know. They see it all the time. Hollywood hope comes in by the busload, folks, fresh-faced would-be thespians seeking that ticket to eternal fame - a thousand a week, or so the estimate goes. A lucky few make it. Thousands upon thousands more work in bars or restaurants or descend into more unsavory occupations, trying to find the right contacts, the perfect pitch...but I digress:
David Lynch, master of the surreal styling, directed _Mulholland Drive_, and it brims with his standard trademarks: careful camera pans, suggestive editing, atmospheric music to create mood and heighten tension. Some of Lynch's previous films have suffocated under his *modus operandi*, but here technique, impeccably fashioned as it is, serves a deeper and far more meaningful theme. There is no self-indulgence here: everything happens for a reason, be it in dream or stark reality.
Buried within the context of the film are a number of subtle (and not-so subtle) metaphors and allusions to the LA illusion-factory. There is a _lot_ I could mention/analyze, but words are precious (and limited), so let me state: One of the most striking (eg obvious) takes place during the theater scene, after the Mephesto-like performer exits amidst cheap brimstone. A woman appears by a microphone, slouched and old, the heavy cosmetic care in the close-up still unable to totally disguise the wear. In a vibrant voice she begins singing a familiar tune in Spanish. At the peak, she collapses, presumably dead...but the song continues on, after the `machine' supposedly `voicing' it has broken down. Rita and Betty shed tears. They know, they know. They see it all the time. They are all players for the human appetite.
Highly recommended for those of open perception.
Movie Review: David Lynch Returns to Top Form
Summary: 5 Stars
With the exception of "The Elephant Man," I've always loved the style of David Lynch, but rarely enjoyed the stories he brought to the screen. If anyone wants the definition of abstract filmmaker - David Lynch is the answer. Lynch allows his imagination to spin wild and create some of the most vivid works of visual art. "Mulholland Drive," a film that will toy with your sense of reality and draw you into the film's world, is Lynch's benchmark.
This bizarre tale begins as a woman (played by Laura Elena Harring) is riding in the back of a limo, only to notice that the driver stops to draw a silenced pistol, and is suddenly rescued (in a way) when a speeding car crashes into the limo. After she wakes up, she wanders into a condo complex, and stays in one that is apparently vacated for the moment.
This sounds simple on paper, but before the movie reaches that little plot point, we are introduced to a multitude of colorful characters, including a detective (Robert Forster) who seems to have no purpose other than to make us acknowledge, "Wow, I really enjoy a scene when a detective is on the scene of the crime." There are mysterious individuals, of seemingly powerful stature, who loom in the shadows and communicate with vague phone calls.
The character that will advance the story (or sequence of events, as I'm not sure this is really a plot), is Betty (Naomi Watts), an aspiring actress who enters the dreamlike world of Hollywood. She soon enters the habitat that Harring's character has been hiding in, and discovers her sensuous figure in a shower. Apparently, "Rita" has amnesia, which Betty sees as an opportunity to embark on an adventure to discover her past.
The film goes in many spirals after that. Justin Theroux portrays Adam Kesher, a director who's blackmailed into making compromises with more strange people, catches his infidelious wife with a pool cleaner (Billy Ray Cyrus?), and shares an unforgettable glance with Betty. A random assassination attempt gone awry only makes sense within the last 10 minutes of the movie. I could go on and on about the oddities of "Mulholland Drive", but I'll leave you to discover.
Many reviewers and critics have ruined the infamous 'TWIST' in the film. I refuse to do so. If you don't know what it is, breathe easy---you can't predict anything in this surreal moviegoing experience.
I would be lying if I said that this film is for everybody, but since when has a David Lynch film ever been? I can guarantee that you will never forget the emotional impact and dizzying strucutre of this masterpiece. David Lynch surely has the answers to this riddle of a mystery. But he is not interested in the concrete answers. He wants us to view this work of art and come up with our own conclusions. He's not doing this to be self-concious, but he wants us to create our own sympathies and relations to the characters. In whatever reality we perceive any film to exist in, what happens on the screen is still open to our interpretation...and Lynch embraces that with open arms.
FINAL NOTE - The DVD insert even comes with 10 questions to help us know where to start. If you want a more complete viewing experience, make sure Amazon retailers are selling you a DVD with this insert.
Movie Review: "What A Beautiful Dream!"
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd never seen any David Lynch film before I saw "Mulholland Drive", bar the final twenty minutes of "Wild At Heart" where Willem Dafoe blows his head off and Nicolas Cage wonders through the film with a painfully large broken nose. To be honest, critic appreciation and its winning untold prizes drew me to it; and I am glad to say that for once the critics are right ... "Mulholland Drive" is easily the best film to be released in 2001, a towering achievement in terms of direction, acting, tone, menace, comedy and beauty. The effect it leaves you with afterwards is like that of a potent, lucid dream; and it makes the painfully clear point that Hollywood isn't so great at playing weirdo-parade than the indies are (compare Lynch's tour-de-force to Cameron Crowe's bland "Vanilla Sky" and you'll see what I mean).A lot of people walked out of "Mulholland" totally perplexed and bemused, many saying that the director deliberately made an infuriating mess of a film just to see the critics and arthouse crowds clamour for more 'dangerous' filmmaking without realising how ineffectual it is as a thriller or even a cohesive film. In response to this: 1) if they want an easy-to-follow thriller, they can rent "Ronin" or something; 2) "Mulholland" is not in any way a thriller; 3) people are allowed to read into a film as much as they deem necessary and if it flies over most people's heads, where's the harm in liking it? For me, "Mulholland" crammed everything a great film could be into a tight two-and-a-half hour running time: comedy, romance, tragedy, horror, lesbianism ... the only thing missing, of course, was a monkey. I can't reveal anything about the film's plot / story, other than you can only watch it for yourself to find out what the hell I'm writing about! So, please, do that!
Not only is it's mixing of genres thoroughly enjoyable, but aesthetically, it sweeps the board. The photography, from the guy behind "Evil Dead 2" and "Scream" and its two sequels, is beautiful, the camerawork in keeping with the noir sensibilities the film adopts in its first two thirds and the editing superb. The acting, particularly, is amazing; Justin Theroux is suitably befuddled throughout, Laura Elena Harring belies her gorgeous looks with an equally beautiful performance and Naomi Watts ... if the world wasn't as cruel as it is (or if the Academy wasn't so susceptible to Hollywood actresses), this woman would win the Oscar hands down. The audition scene, particularly, is an acting masterclass; it is every wannabe actor's dream envisioned and emblazoned on the big screen.
That said, "Mulholland" is the best film I've seen in a long time; Oscar nominations should be handed out for film, director, actress, original screenplay, photography, editing and score immediately without hesitation. It's not going to get them though, seeing as most people did't walk into the theater knowing what they were letting themselves in for. My advice: let it wash over you, like a dream, don't try to pinpoint an exact story but try to remember the moments and piece your path back together. Thought "The Usual Suspects", "Memento", even "Vanilla Sky" were weird? Well, you haven't seen nothing yet!
Movie Review: Shadows and Landscapes
Summary: 5 Stars
There are some directors that entertain and there are some directors, an elite few, who cast spells. David Lynch belongs to the elite few.Maybe with exception of the Cohen brothers, there is no American director whose film could be mistaken for another director. Since his Blue Velvet in 1986(and some would argue even before then),Lynch has created a style which could only be described, for lack of a better word, as "Lynchian".
Long time fans of Lynch will feel right at home with Muholland Drive. It's a film that Lynch has building up to since Blue Velvet, and it shows an artist working at his peak. I have to admit in recent years, I believed Lynch was starting to stray from the elements that made Blue Velvet so special. Movies like Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks, and Lost Highway were fascinating but they seemed to be different variations on Blue Velvet. It wasn't until 1999 that Lynch stepped away from his special brand of neo-noir and made the beautiful "Straight Story." In that film, Lynch tells a deceptively simple story about an elderly man living in Iowa who drives a lawnmower to Wisconsin to visit his estranged elderly brother who is dying. The film was based on fact and it was one of the very few films of his which Lynch did not write. I believe the experience of making that film was of monumemtal importance to Lynch because, due to the nature of the factual story, it forced Lynch to focus on the narrative of the story.
It is this focus which Lynch has brought to Muholland Drive and makes it a triumph. The film starts out with a violent car crash between two vehicles on a Los Angeles highway. Out of the flames of the collision arises a dazed and injured brunette played by Laura Harring. The brunette is able to leave the scene before law enforcement arive and finds solace in an unoccupied apartment located on Mulholland Drive. Cut a few frames later and we are introduced to a beautiful blonde(played by the stunning Naomi Watts)arriving into Los Angeles at the airport. She is an aspiring actress who is given the opportunity to reside her in her aunt's unoccupied apartment in Los Angeles as she auditions for film roles. Eventually, Ms Watts discovers that the brunette is hiding in her aunt's apartment. The film's mystery begins when Ms Watts, having sympathy for the uninvited guest, offers to "help" the brunette find her identity who, as we find out, has amnesia. The first part of the film deceptively seems to deal with the issue of the brunette and her identity. It is not until the film's incredible second half that we begin to discover who the movie is really about and why.
Mulholland Drive, like other Lynch films, obsesses over identity. However, that is not the whole story. It also reveals, very slowly and cunningly, the "dirt" beneath the Hollwood fabric and lifestyle.
I can't praise this film high enough. I saw it two days in a row during a holiday weekend and was engrossed both times. This movie is made by one of the very few radical directors. A director who creates a world where everything is simple but nothing is obvious.
Movie Review: David Lynch is a Surreal Genius!
Summary: 5 Stars
I know everyone is going to have there opinions about this movie. Everything doesn't have to have some exposions and a predictable ending. I am sick of seeing the same films made over and over and you always know the good always will win. This is a film about deep obcession, the worst kind. If people can watch this film and get intouch with there deep inner most feelings they may understand. WARNING: Most of this film takes place in the subconscious/mind so alot of it isn't suppose to make sense. Most of our dreams or thoughts don't so why should a film that is obviously conveying that should? Mulholland, serves as sort of a parent movie to the 1997 "Lost Highway" which I found "Brillant"! "Lost Highway" was too a David Lynch film about obcession but with a darker and more surreal meaning. This is a film about a girl that was having "Delusions of Granduer" and was destroyed by guilt. Basically she dreamed that she was going to be a super actress. In actuality she was a struggling actress and her girl friend was the one on top of the world. When the movie flips to reality what you thought was actually happening was only a figment of her guilt and imagination. She was obcessed with the woman actress and they had a relationship. But when the dark haired beauty decided to call it quits and marry the producer you see just how obcessed she really was. Not only did she dump her she decided to torture and tease and rub it in her face. So to some extent you realize that the woman was evil. Also she was having an affair with another female that was revealed later in this film. The characters are switched around but in the end you will see who's names match up with who. Basically the disturbed and disgruntled actress that was dumped was a bit more in need than we know. There is a scene in the film where she is on the coach" and you can guess what she was doing" reminising about the black haired beauty. But any way when it all comes down this movie ends in turmoil. Basically a product of guilt and demons chasing her to her death.The mysterious toy looking blue key serves as a dream version of the real key. The real key was placed at the time to mark that the job was done! And when you watch the film you will know what the job was. The little people or old people in the film they served as satire for "The Demons". Mulholland Dr..is another phycological journey just as Lost Highway was. David Lynch keep doing what you are doing your the greatest! This film was nicely filmed with alot of passion and sensuality.Note:
If anyone ever read or saw interviews with David Lynch. He doesn't do commentary's nor does he give the options on DVD to skip to the next seen. He wants people to experience the whole film and interpret it for your self. If it takes a person 10 watches then he has done his job!
I personally enjoy a challenge but most people don't. If you don't like to exercise your brain or get intouch with deep innner emotions? This film is definitley not for you!
I Recommend " Parent Movie "Lost Highway" in addition to this!
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