Mulholland Drive (Blu-ray)

From revered cult director David Lynch ("Blue Velvet", "Lost Highway", "Inland Empire") comes yet another epic film which quickly becomes irritating, bizarre and makes little, if any sense, "Mulholland Drive". In fact, this film over-promises and under-delivers; which would appear to be the common template for most of David Lynch's films. That said, I thought "Blue Velvet", whilst more controversial with graphic carnal and sexually abusive scenes, is actually more coherent and satisfactory than "Mulholland Drive". The plot of "Mulholland Drive" simply fails to gel and is often incoherent. A young blonde actress Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) arrives in Hollywood to emerge as an actress; yet meets an attractive brunette (Laura Elena Harring) suffering from memory loss ... MoreFrom revered cult director David Lynch ("Blue Velvet", "Lost Highway", "Inland Empire") comes yet another epic film which quickly becomes irritating, bizarre and makes little, if any sense, "Mulholland Drive". In fact, this film over-promises and under-delivers; which would appear to be the common template for most of David Lynch's films. That said, I thought "Blue Velvet", whilst more controversial with graphic carnal and sexually abusive scenes, is actually more coherent and satisfactory than "Mulholland Drive". The plot of "Mulholland Drive" simply fails to gel and is often incoherent. A young blonde actress Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) arrives in Hollywood to emerge as an actress; yet meets an attractive brunette (Laura Elena Harring) suffering from memory loss following a road accident on Mulholland Drive. Watts spends most of the film assisting Harring discover who she (Harring) actually is. A young director played by Justin Theroux ( TV's "The Mosquito Coast") is also thrown into the mix; and from there Lynch throws everything into his convulted plot: a blue key, a female singer who just happens to sing in perfect Spanish, a cowboy who looks like he belongs in a different film and several topless lesbian themes which give the film a strong and vivid pornographic theme. What was Naomi Watts thinking when she signed up to this? And then the film concludes by revisiting the accident on Mulholland Drive. Plus there are a number of actors, including Dan Hedaya ("Blood Simple") who only appear in one scene and then disappear? Alert viewers will be scratching their heads and wonder what was "Mulholland Drive" all about; as it appears episodic, teasing, sexually ambivalent and just a mess. Difficult to recommend, largely incoherent.

With so many people gushing about this ‘art house masterpiece’ I had high expectations and it completely failed to deliver. The script is bland, the cinematography very old school like a 70s TV show and the dream plot, not clever, but drawn out and plain stupid. The resolution and big reveal are wrapped up so quickly that it feels like they ran out of time and money.I get that David Lynch is trying to make a commentary about the money driven Hollywood machine and its illusion of glamour and success but this lacked finesse and skill. Watching this was hard work. Mulholland Drive is one of the most overrated movies ever.

Typical David Lynch movie, with dreamlike quality that keeps you engrossed while wondering what's actually going on. Really enjoyed the experience, and appreciated Naomi Watts in the lead role. Recommended if you like the good parts of Twin Peaks!