Neal Edelstein, Tony Krantz, Michael Polaire, Alain Sarde and Mary Sweeney
Screenplay:
David Lynch
Music:
Angelo Badalamenti
Cast:
Betty Elms: Naomi Watts
Adam Kesher: Justin Theroux
Rita: Laura Harring
Coco Lenoix: Ann Miller
Vincenzo Castigliane: Dan Hedaya
Detective McKnight: Robert Forster
Plot:
A glamorous woman escapes death at gunpoint after her chauffeur driver
car is involved in a car accident along Mulholland Drive. Suffering from
amnesia, she befriends naive young actress-wannabe Betty, and both women
resolve to unlock the mystery of her identity...
David Lynch - the master of weirdness - is back with Mulholland Drive.
The movie was originally conceived as a new TV series for ABC, with the
Pilot episode actually filmed but turned down by network executives.
Lynch was quickly asked to resurrect Mulholland Drive as a
feature-film by French backers 'Canal+', and so he set about condensing
an entire series of television into a movie. Fortunately every actor
involved in the show agreed to shoot additional scenes, and so
Mulholland Drive rose like a Phoenix from the flames of TV Hell.
Mulholland Drive opens with the attempted murder of a glamorous woman
(Laura Harring) in a car being driven down the titular stretch of
Hollywood. She narrowly escapes with her life when the car is involved
in an accident, and finds herself wandering the steets with amnesia. She
later meets Betty (Naomi Watts), a wannabe actress, who slowly becomes
enamoured with the amnesiac stranger... and that's before things get
really weird, involving a mysterious blue key, a stoic Cowboy, a bizarre
theatre group, and a deadlocked monster...
David Lynch is a wonderfully gifted director. He effortlessly manages to
portray everyday existence as if it's a puzzle of strangeness, where
every person, event, and situation is just slightly off-kilter. There's
nothing overtly strange about most things in Mulholland Drive, but
there's always a tangible threat of danger around every corner... and in
every piece of dialogue...
Lynch manages to build mood with ease, mainly by his effective use of
sound to drag users into his mindscape and play with their perceptions.
As your rational mind tries to latch onto a semblance of "normal"
plot... your imagination is constantly firing in the background as
characters, events, images and sounds conspire against your level
headedness.
The acting is also wonderful; Naomi Watts gives naive Betty real
believability and a likeable upbeat attitude to contradict the
subversive nature of proceedings, while Laura Harring underplays
amnesiac Rita to a fine degree. Both actresses totally embody their
roles, and lend great weight and sensitivity to what could have been an
exploitative lesbian angle between them.
The music score is simple yet effective, flowing throughout the movie -
heightening mood and providing unsettling outlets for surrealism to
creep into otherwise normal situations. The screenplay, written by David
Lynch, is well paced and never lets the film's long running time burden
the viewer's attention. Interesting things are constantly happening - be
it the appearance of a bizarre new character, a quirky mannerism, or a
threatening line of dialogue delivered with deadpan delivery.
Unresolved situations are weaved throughout the movie, each vying for
your attention and daring you to try and neatly sew them together. But
this is one patchwork quilt only Lynch can knit. By the time the perfect
final scene fades from the screen, you're left to sit in silence - in a
whirlwind of half-answers and a strange sense that things were answered,
just not as you expected them to be. If there's ever been a film that
lingers in your mind days after you've hit your 'EJECT' button,
Mulholland Drive is it.
I really enjoyed and appreciated Mulholland Drive for its fine
qualities as an intelligent drama that tests an audiences imagination.
If, however, you like films with fairly linear plots and definite
resolutions, I'd avoid Lynch's latest like the plague!
Being a big David Lynch fan I was unsure whether or not he'd have more
surprises up his sleeve after so many years, but he can still
"out-weird" anyone. True, some elements in the movie are are merely
polished versions of ideas he used in 'Lost Highway', but while 'Lost
Highway' was scarier, Mulholland Drive is more satisfying. Some
aspects of Mulholland Drive didn't really work - most being abandoned
sub-plots from the failed TV-version of the project - but there's no
denying this is one of the most intellectually satisfying movies in
years. Watch this film with a group of likeminded people, and you'll be
debating its meaning for weeks... and any movie that gets people talking
afterwards is a winner in my book!
Mulholland Drive arrives on 1 disc in an Amaray case, together with an
inside sheet that has some "clues" you should read after watching the
movie to try and unlock the mystery. The artwork on the disc is,
frankly, uninspiring - being merely a wistful Naomi Watts on a purple
background. Not really a great indication of the movie or Lynch's style.
As a side gripe, it's always annoyed me that Region 1 plastic cases seem
much flimsier than their Region 2 counterparts. Mulholland Drive's
case threatened to snap in my hand on more than one occasion.
The picture is in anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio as intended by Lynch, and is
as good as you can expect from a modestly budgeted film patchworked from
a TV episode. There's certainly nothing here that really grabs your
attention with pinpoint detail or particularly lush colours, but there's
also nothing to seriously frustrate people.
With Mulholland Drive originally being a TV episode, some of the
scenes lifted directed from the television print have some grain
compared to the scenes filmed for the big screen. Fortunately, the grain
isn't distracting, and a small price to pay for the chance to see
Lynch's latest vision.
Sound plays a big role in Lynch movies, managing to heighten the senses
and crank up tension with far more aplomb than his obtuse imagery.
However, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is lacking in surround sound
delights, but does a competent job with the film's limited chances for
audio prowess.
One particular highlight for me is a sudden "muffling" audio effect in
an early scene at a Diner, where the audio drops to a very spooky low
(as if you've suddenly been dunked underwater). It's very disconcerting,
and the fact the audio perfectly matches the emotion onscreen is what
truly sends shivers of fear down your spine. Perfect.
Sadly, this release has no real features to speak of. There are very
brief Cast & Crew Biography pages, and the movie's Theatrical Trailer...
but that's it. A great shame, as some background on the rather
interesting genesis of this movie would have been great, as would some
form of "Making Of" documentary. However, did you really expect a
Director's Commentary from David Lynch? No, of course not.
At Lynch's behest the disc also has no chapter selections, which means
you either watch the entire movie from beginning to end, or have to
endure an eternity of fast-forwarding to get to a particular scene.
Frustrating, but a nice example of Lynch's insistence people watch his
movies how he wants you to.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Plot:
A glamorous woman escapes death at gunpoint after her chauffeur driver
car is involved in a car accident along Mulholland Drive. Suffering from
amnesia, she befriends naive young actress-wannabe Betty, and both women
resolve to unlock the mystery of her identity...
Unresolved situations are weaved throughout the movie, each vying for
your attention and daring you to try and neatly sew them together. But
this is one patchwork quilt only Lynch can knit. By the time the perfect
final scene fades from the screen, you're left to sit in silence - in a
whirlwind of half-answers and a strange sense that things were answered,
just not as you expected them to be. If there's ever been a film that
lingers in your mind days after you've hit your 'EJECT' button,
Mulholland Drive is it.
Mulholland Drive arrives on 1 disc in an Amaray case, together with an
inside sheet that has some "clues" you should read after watching the
movie to try and unlock the mystery. The artwork on the disc is,
frankly, uninspiring - being merely a wistful Naomi Watts on a purple
background. Not really a great indication of the movie or Lynch's style.
As a side gripe, it's always annoyed me that Region 1 plastic cases seem
much flimsier than their Region 2 counterparts. Mulholland Drive's
case threatened to snap in my hand on more than one occasion.