FILM CHALLENGE: 117) Mulholland Drive

117) Mulholland Drive

Director: David Lynch

Year: 2001

Plot Summary: After a brutal car accident in Los Angeles, California, Rita is the sole survivor but suffers mass amnesia. Wandering into a strangers apartment downtown, her story strangely intertwines with Betty Elms, a perky young woman in search of stardom. However, Betty is intrigued by Rita's situation and is willing to put aside her dreams to pursue this mystery. The two women soon discover that nothing is as it seems in the city of dreams.

Mulholland Drive is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

As a piece of art, you will struggle to find anything quite as visually mesmerising as David Lynch's Oscar-nominated drama with its contrast of dreamy elegance and dark, nightmarish foreboding. In some of the opening scenes, Mulholland Drive has the glow of a 60s studio picture complemented by the similarly old fashioned performance from Naomi Watts who brings to mind Marilyn Monroe here with her tender delivery, innocent bright blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair. However, as the sinister side of the story begins to show, the camerawork, lighting, music and atmosphere all begin to take you on a journey into the disturbing and haunting.

But by no means does the only entertainment come from Lynch's brilliant style. His storytelling here is the best it's been since his 80s hit Blue Velvet. From the very first moment you will find yourself glued to the screen wanting to know who Rita is, why someone wants her dead and who was behind the attempted murder along with many, many other things.

But, like you'd expect from the man behind Twin Peaks, Eraserhead and Lost Highway, the answers aren't resolved in a neat and tidy resolution. In the same way that the TV show Lost, which was undoubtedly inspired by Lynch's film, requires painstaking attention to even the smallest details and requires lots of thought as to what every event, character and scene means, Mulholland Drive is a movie that demands you to study every aspect of the mise-en-scene and the colour, remember every characters name and piece together every detail and how it may fit into the bigger picture.

This, however, makes repeated viewings not only a pleasure but a necessity. You will want to revisit the film over and over again to confirm or test your theories and find possible new outlooks on what Lynch could be aiming towards with his story.

Many critics praised this as one of the best films of the decade and I would have to entirely agree. While I don't find everything that Lynch does great, Mulholland Drive is the work of one of the world's most artistic, unconventional, intelligent and unique directors at the very top of his game.

5/5

By Daniel Sarath with 2 comments