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Mulholland Dr cast: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller, and Dan Hedaya writer and director: David Lynch 147 minutes (15) 2001 widescreen ratio 1.85:1 Universal DVD Region 2 retail RATING: 9/10 reviewed by Christopher Teague |
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Young aspiring actress Betty arrives in Hollywood, with the intent on making it big as a movie star. She rents a flat that belongs to her aunt, and upon entering she meets Rita, an amnesiac who was involved in a car accident, and all she remembers is going to meet someone in Mulholland Drive.
The film plays superbly well, the plot gently rolling along, as Betty helps Rita piece together her life, with the viewer wondering just where the secondary characters fit in, from the stressed director to the inept hitman (in a sequence which you just cannot help but laugh along too). Slowly, the viewer is rewarded, with the jigsaw assembling itself...
Then, the film just jumps tracks, and trundles along a completely different tangent, and the speed and mood of change is handled tremendously, which leaves the viewer awestruck but eyes wide in wonderment. The performances from the two leads - Naomi Watts as the wide-eyed starlet Betty and Laura Harring as Rita - are wonderful, and perfectly cast, along with the supporting cast of Justin Theroux, Ann Miller and Robert Forster. Lynch is also aided and abetted by his regular musical collaborator Angelo Badalamenti, whose score is up to his usual sterling standard (the film also features an entirely spoken rendition of Roy Orbison's 'Crying' in Spanish, and to state that it is emotional would be to say jumping in the sea would make you slightly wet).
The cinematography, courtesy of Peter Deming, is also of note, with some wonderful compositions. Lynch is not to everyone's taste: you either love or loathe his style, but if you love his work, then this is probably his best film since Blue Velvet.
On the DVD side, it is a very disappointing package, with bare bones actor profiles and no chapter stops, but it is known that Lynch does not like chapters - he prefers his films to be seen in their entirety. Overall, a wonderfully crafted film, which oozes class and atmosphere; you may not understand it (but, to be honest, does anyone understand every bit of a Lynch film?) but you have to watch it.