Movie Review: Mulholland Drive

Story: Writer, director David Lynch (Twin Peaks) originally penned this mess as a TV pilot. When rejected by the network, he was encouraged (and financed) by a French company (it figures) to lengthen it, add some lesbian sex and create a feature length (and then some) film. So what do you get when you mix mediums? For me... a big ol' head scratcher. There are many plot lines including the main story of an amnesiac and the gal that befriends her, Hollywood, the mob and did I mention a Yeti-like thing? In the typical Lynchian style there are moments of sheer brilliance and there is lots of nonsense. The undeveloped characters were the most annoying thing about the film for me. In a 13 week TV series I imagine many of their stories would have had some resolution, but here, the just appear and vanish. If you are a David Lynch fan you will probably enjoy this film, but for everyone else, how about donating that admission price to one of the many WTC funds.

Acting: There are some terrific performances that certainly made for the brilliance in some of the film. They include, Naomi Watts as Betty, the seemingly sweet ingenue and Laura Harring as Rita, the amnesia chanteuse. Justin Theroux, as Adam, the Hollywood director is also quite good and very promising. There are some wacky cameos by that kept me on my toes as well.

Critters: Thankfully, none.

Food: Uneaten bacon and eggs.

Visual Art: Great attention to detail, as expected, in a Lynch film.

Blatant Product Placement: DKNY purse.

Soundtrack: Appropriately weird.

Opening Titles: An interesting jitter bug sequence.

Theater Audience: Fairly empty with lots of head scratchers like me. Almost everyone stayed through the end credits (I think hoping there might be some written explanations at the end).

Sappy Factor: double 0

Quirky Meter: 7

Predictability Level: I am still not sure what happened.

Oscar Worthy: NO

Nit Picking: I hate that out of focus stuff. It just seems as if there is something wrong in the projection booth.

Big Screen or Rental: If you want to have a Lynch festival, try renting some of these past winners. The Straight Story, Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Dune, Elephant Man, Eraserhead.

Length: 30 minutes over the LOBO 2 hour rule.

LOBO HOWLS: 5