2001
Directed by David Lynch
I really hate David Lynch's movies, but through a series of unfortunate circumstances, I have been forced to watch Eraserhead, Elephant Man (okay, that one wasn't so bad), Blue Velvet, that ridiculous Rabbit series, and now this. Professors just love screening Lynch movies, and it my desperate attempt to finally finishing my writing degree, certain sacrifices must be made. Recently, one of my professors showed Mulholland Drive, a movie I have been avoiding for many moons.
Okay, plot summary time. Let's see...Betty is an aspiring actress who might be capable of making Sandra Dee wretch. She moves into her aunt's apartment in Hollywood, but discovers that someone else is already there: a voluptuous brunette who can't remember what her name is. Betty resolves to help her, but it soon becomes clear it's a toss up who needs a trip to hospital more. Justin Theroux flits around in the background, playing an arrogant director who is being pressured by some kind of mafia to cast Camilla Rhodes into his movie. And um...some other weird stuff happens.
Well, you all probably know how I feel about movies like this. I think it is much more difficult and admirable to create an original plot with a cohesive narrative than it is create nonsensical sequences with an absurd amount of loose ends. I also think that when the best explanation for a movie's plot is "it was all a dream," it means that the screenwriter took an easy way out. Now that being said, I think Lynch does delve a bit deeper than that. If we do interpret this as a dream, the presentation was much more Freudian than writers' typical presentation of the subconscious, with its blatant symbolism that is barely open to interpretation. This was much realer, and therefore more confusing.
I should probably also mention the lesbian relationship depicted here. On the one hand, LGBTQ+ representation in Hollywood has always been poor, so maybe he should get some credit for featuring one. On the other hand, did anyone else feel like maybe David Lynch just wanted to watch these hot women simulate sex? Considering the perv level in Hollywood, I wouldn't be surprised.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
Was originally conceived as a spinoff of Twin Peaks.
The Cowboy had no eyebrows to make him creepier.
