Mulholland Drive

Brilliantly told...... hypnotic. Once I figure out exactly what the poet was trying to say, I'll pack my bags, drive to LA, and tap a celebratory keg on Mulholland Drive in Lynch's honour, but until then I'll just have a few beers to celebrate a disarming cinematic puzzle that harbours big ideas and never before seen narrative mastery, though it perhaps unnecessarily stretches out the action in the first two acts and delays the final big bang, during which I shuddered even at parts whose inflection is entirely inappropriate for this database, and I was already grasping for potential explanations, only to be outwitted again by Lynch, who has done something that only Jindra Petáková and her high school maths textbook have so far managed to do: weld my brain and condemn me to a grade between 4 and zero. I'll give it a four this time, because I admire the flamboyant command of attention on the level of so many characters, which turns out in the end to be so gripping and mutually motivated, and I'm looking forward to the second viewing, from which I'm already promising myself pure five-star ecstasy over the hypnotic cinematography, the music, the breasts of Watts and Harring, and of course the story, which has something to say, even though it utters it only in unknowns. I'm really eager to figure out how everything works, and with that David has clearly done his bit... 85% (25/10/2012)

A psycho(il)logical and strange picture that is hard to grasp... So, in fact, the type of classic that we are used to getting from Lynch. If it had ended twenty minutes earlier, this would have been maybe the most graspable Lynch movie ever, but at that moment is breaks into the most bizarre movie ever. Lynch on his best film-making (not series-making!) form. (12/05/2012)

This is either a masterpiece or a bad trip, but an excellent and unusual experience in any case. Also, since my first encounter with Lynch, I have learnt how to watch his films (to accept that most of the action doesn’t take place in the real world), so this time I’m convinced that I know what this one is roughly about, and it actually begins to make sense in the last half hour. Basically, it draws attention to feelings and conditions that are common in a person’s daily life, even if they are not always aware of them: desire, disappointment, pain, escape, revenge. PS: Or it’s something completely different. (05/03/2009)

As a series, it might not be bad. Yet as a standalone film, it rides the wave of films with unreliable narrators, and that perpetual dreamlike atmosphere and the combination of Lynch and his favorite films just makes for a new collage. However, the latent Sapphic themes and the crush on the Paramount gate are elements I’m always interested in. (23/10/2016)

Mulholland Drive is not a film for viewers who need a clearly defined script, want answers, and a clear resolution. It is, on the other hand, suitable for those who like to play, enjoy a mysterious atmosphere, and possess a good dose of imagination and creativity. Mulholland Drive is primarily a typically Lynchian game with genres and pop-cultural references, featuring excellent music, great acting performances, precise editing, and interesting cinematography. It’s a film that made Naomi Watts a major star. Overall impression: 95%. Along with the much darker Lost Highway, it's probably Lynch's best work. (24/09/2007)