Rated: R
Running Time: 2:27
Tabitha's Rating:****/5
Synopsis: Well...there's a lot of characters...there's a lot of plotlines...but really it's all one plotline....
In my opinion, Mulholland Drive is either a really great, brilliant movie, or a terrribly horrible movie. But there is no way it is average. I decided finally, after researching the film to find out what the hell the movie was about, that it really is a great movie. The key is, understanding who characters are, and distinguishing order and reality of events. However, it cannot be a 5 star movie due to the very fact that I HAD to research it over the net afterwards just to understand what I had just watched. It is one thing to be confusing, then wrap it all up in the end, and another to just leave the audience hanging. I am a pretty smart person, and I usually get all the complexities of a film that leaves other people confused. But as far as Mulholland Drive goes, I think most people walked out of the theater completely clueless. Otherwise, there would not be a website devoted to answering all the questions about what went on in the movie. However, since such a website exists there are obviously people out there who DID get it without help. That website, by the way is Everything You Wanted To Know About Mulholland Drive. I highly recommend this site, but only after you have viewed the film.
The film has several characters and storylines, and at some point, these storylines wind together, although there are many scenes that seem to have had nothing to do with the movie. As I said before, if you dont understand their relevance, go to that page. The film's main characters are Betty, a young, sweet, and pretty aspiring actress. Next, there is a dark haired woman whom Betty falls in love with, who has amnesia after an accident, Rita. Also involved is a director named Adam, who is being forced to put an actress in his film he doesn't want. Betty and Rita end up acting like a couple of detectives, trying to unravel the mystery of just who Rita is. Their clues are the name "Diane", and the $50,000 and blue key that Rita had in her purse the night of the accident. It should also be noted, that the accident took place just a moment before Rita was to be murdered.
Two thirds of the way through the movie, the film takes a drastic change in direction. Suddenly, characters disappear and actors seem to be playing different people. This is a huge accomplishment on the part of the actors, especially Naomi Watts, who portrays Betty. She makes it almost impossible to believe that she is the same actress playing the same person, she looks and acts so different from the first part, to the second part of the movie.
I do not want to go to into the movie, you wouldnt get what I was saying anyway. But letme just say why I came to the conclusion that this is a brilliant movie. There are two parts to the story, the second explaining everything in the first. Once you understand what the difference is in the two parts of the movie, you will see how much sense it all makes, and how it all fits together. The way human minds work is also dead on accurate. In fact, the whole movie is great, especially that one thing most people dont get without help after viewing the movie. My one and ONLY complaint is that David Lynch, the director, should have done a better job of wrapping things up and explaining WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED.
Bottomline: I would recommend this movie, but if you do see it, and don't understand, please don't just pass it off as a horrible movie. Read that website I gave the link to above in order to appreciate. And if you DO understand it without help, please sign my guestbook or email me at Itsmylife8302@aol.com and tell me how.
