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.
Ah the eternal Hollywood trap of portraying lesbian characters...
ReplyDeleteSome Holywood rule somewhere must state that they must be either ugly, bulky grotesques with a hatred for everyone and so work in a woman's prison where they mistreat the inmates with sadistic glee... or really, really sexy hot in a way that titillates 18 yr old boys.
I watched this twice without being any wiser. Then I read a comment on another movie blog that gave a complete interpretation that actually made sense. Apparently you have to watch this as a comment on Chistianity and a pretty blasphemous one at that.
ReplyDelete>TS.. Really? Oh wow, thank you for that input. I'm not sure if I feel it's worth descending into the depths of the film again to 'get it', but I appreciate the insight. (Whilst on the topic ... Have you seen 'Mother!' (Daren Aronofsky, 2017) yet for another weird religious / Christ metaphor )
ReplyDeleteI have not seen that one, but as I have never seen an Aronofsky movie that I actually liked, I am not really tempted.
DeleteFor a criticism on religion, my favorite is Life of Brian.
I saw a trailer for Mother and had trouble refraining from intense eye rolling.
ReplyDelete