Rating: 
Summary: The Worst Movie of 2001
Review: Quite simply, Mulholland Drive doesn't contain a shred of plot; it is just a series of unrelated scenes. If you're looking for a movie that tells an intelligible story, then you need to look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want to marvel over pseudo-intellectual BS that nobody can understand, then this is the perfect movie for you.
Rating:
Summary: Promising Start Falls Apart
Review: Mullholland Drive is an extremely disappointing film. Not because it is bad all the through but because it is a great movie for 3/4's of the way through and then completely falls apart. It has wonderful David Lynchisms and is stylistically appealing. Creepy, sexy, mysterious and quirky yet maintains a linear path and you really want to know what happens. Then the last 1/4 is as if it is a completely different film with the same actors (although you may not be able to tell who's who). It turns into a surreal mess with no explanation for anything that you have seen in the first part. While visually interesting, a frustrating waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Lynch at his best
Review: Hypnotic, beautiful, and at moments legitimately terrifying, this is Lynch at his unsettling best. The self-destructive insecurities at the heart of the Hollywood 'dream' are the subject this time, and Lynch dissects them with a chilling precision - which probably accounts for the distinct lack of Oscars. But in a year in which the hallowed Academy also saw fit to ignore 'Memento,' 'The Deep End,' and 'Life As A House' what else could we really expect? Lynch is easily the most original and consistently interesting director working in America today. You owe it to yourself to see this film and discover just how different and challenging a movie can be. Don't be daunted by the phalanx of reviewers who deplore its impenetrability. It's a simple story you've seen many times before, just told in a different way. So take the ride, and see what you make of it. At the very least you won't be bored - which is more than we can say for many Oscar winners.
Rating:
Summary: Paranoia, desire, crushed ambition, realizations of self...
Review: This movie was not intended to be shown in one sitting. Originally conceived as a television drama (much like Twin Peaks), it only became a film when it was not picked up for a television market. David Lynch then re-imagined what he had already created and worked to fashion a film, seeking foreign producers and a distributor that trusted him. While this short history of the genesis of the film does not explain its intricacies, perhaps it will help to soothe the frustrations of someone watching the film for the first time. Can you imagine trying to piece together the entire history of the X-Files in one 3 hour sitting? It would be difficult at best.In my opinion, one big clue to the movie is in the opening shot (not the beginning credits, but the first "film" frame). It is of a pillow and a sheet...that quickly dissolves into a rather nostalgic ride down Mulholland Drive (the road that runs behind the famous HOLLYWOOD sign). The movie does not return the viewer to that shot ... of the pillow again until Diane wakes up nearly 5/8's of the way through the film. It can be assumed that this whole portion of the film has been one long dream, a dream that gives us a great deal of insight into the personal desires and fantasies of Diane. The rest of the film is a mish-mash of (in my opinion) drug-induced daydreams and paranoia, seen through the beer-bottle goggles of Diane. She over-emphasizes the importance of things she is suspicious of, and sees things that are not really there--ultimately leading to her making some bad decisions that she cannot deal with. Several characters appear in both worlds (the dream, and the warped/drug altered reality of the end). These characters, we assume, have had some kind of impact on Diane's life. Her fantasy/inner vision of the characters is seen in her dream, the somewhat-subjective reality of them revealed only in the latter part of the film. There are really only two characters that are enigmas: the person behind the diner, and the cowboy. In my opinion, the person behind the diner represents a drug dealer (making things happen) whom Diane buys from (who controls Pandora's box). The cowboy, to me, represents the simple, logical, American person that Diane hopes is out there, striving to right the wrongs of LA. The dream sequence is Diane's subconscious exploring her feelings for the people and places in her life, and rewriting her experiences in a version she likes better (she is an amazing actress, who is only deterred from certain stardom because of a conspiracy, and who loves someone that would love her fully too, if only she really knew who she was). When she wakes up, she must then come to terms with her life, and muddle through the confusing haze of people and relationships in her life within LA culture...confusing matters incredibly with her drug/fantasy/day dream visions. The movie is a masterpiece of writing, direction, cinematography, and ultimately conviction to telling an unconventional story...Lynch, Herring, Watts and others never waver in their commitment to the story...even when it gets scary, erotic, or convoluted. The result is an incredibly entertaining and though-provoking experience that will leave you wanting to see it again and talk to others about it. The casting is largely from television actors and recognizable faces (no doubt attributed to the fact that the film was originally going to be a television series), revealing and introducing some amazingly talented actors and actresses (Naomi Watts--clearly stretching beyond the matronly parts she has previously played, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, and Dan Hedaya in the most obvious occurrences). The DVD is an interesting example of the mind of David Lynch. It was his express directive that there be no chapter breaks in the movie. It was also his express directive to disallow additional information beyond a cast list and the trailer. His reasoning is that the additional material detracts from the experience of the film. And in this case, he is right. The additional material would allow the viewer to remove him or herself from the film, reminding them that it all was make-believe and without meaning. In his own way, by starving the viewer of these extra tidbits, Lynch has created even more of an enigma for viewers to question well into the future.
Rating:
Summary: a movie without a message
Review: Thanks to exposure to some of Lynch's previous work, I anticipated being confused but ultimately sufficiently enthralled to make the movie-watching experience worthwhile. I was disappointed. The nonexistence of plot would not be so egregious, perhaps, had the first half of the movie not implied that some form of film noir convention would be in place. When does a movie cross the line between being quirky and being pointless? It does so here.
Rating: 
Summary: It could've been brilliant...
Review: if only it made sense. I was thoroughly enjoying this movie until I realized it never was going to make sense. I usually eat up the really odd stuff, so this movie was a treat for me for a while. Then it just went overboard. I really couldn't wait to find out how Lynch would tie it all together, but he didn't. What a cop-out. It gets three stars because it really is an intriguing movie and it kept my attention throughout.. but only because I was watching all the details so I could connect them when I needed to. There was some connection, but overall it didn't make any kind of good sense. The performances are very good, too; some are purposely schlocky and I think some people took that as genuinely bad acting. I don't think it was an accident. I would like to challenge David Lynch to write this movie so the entire thing makes sense. I would be seriously impressed. But presently I'm just rather disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Must see film ... for film lovers
Review: First, this ain't your typical movie. It is at least 2 movies in one, and is a heckuva ride. You'll want to watch it through first, then see parts of it again and again, as the broken pieces (hopefully) piece themselves together in your subconscious. If you like movies like Vanilla Sky or Magnolia, this is one you don't want to miss. Recommended, unless you only like movies that go happily from point A to B to C to nicely wrapped ending. Only 4 stars, because there are no real extras on the DVD, and no chapter previews... a disappointing omission.
Rating:
Summary: A review looking at the film in a different perspective...
Review: Okay. This movie was accurately described in the above reviews, but there's something left out. This movie is disturbing. The actors are protrayed like little dolls, some with exaggerated experssions, some with none at all. The thing about this movie is that there's so much parallel action taking place, it's extremely confusing to sort the movie out in your head. Sometimes things don't make much sense, such as the compeltely recorded orchestra (NO HAY ORQUESTRA, NO HAY BANDA!), and the little blue box that opens to reveal apparently nothing. But after about an hour of thinking, I figured this movie out somewhat. It's in backwards order. The last 30 minutes of the movie are actually the first minutes chonologically. If you put it into that perspective, the movie is a lot more understandable. I gave it a 4 because it was brilliantly designed, but the movie is so irregularly arranged, it gets completely disturbing and almost too unbearable to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Mulholland Dr. - Wonderful David Lynch
Review: I always enjoy David Lynch movies because they are so twisted. That puts this one right up there. I thought it was a little easier to follow than Lost Highway, but it was still twisted enough to really enjoy the way your brain feels like jelly when it is over. I heard this was originally planned as a t.v. series. I wish it would have been done that way. A friend told me that the box was the key to how the series would have worked (turn the key and everything changes), but I don't know for sure. Anyhow, if you enjoy David Lynch, then this is a must see.
Rating:
Summary: Long and winding road.
Review: Alternately brilliant and self-indulgent, but always poisonous, "love letter to Los Angeles". And just when we thought David Lynch had cleaned up his act, re: *The Straight Story*. Nahhh. Back to the weirdness, baby. Indeed, *Mulholland Drive* is Lynch's weirdest movie yet. It's about (knowing viewers are already laughing) two women in the City of Angels: one a scrubbed-face blond honey from Canada, only newly arrived to try to start a movie career; the other, a dark, preposterously lovely femme fatale (Laura Harring, former Miss USA -- get the irony? Hmmm?) who seems to be involved in something criminal, but she -- and we -- don't know what it is because she's stricken with amnesia after a devastating collision in the dead of night on Mulholland Drive. The basic narrative business involves the women's quest to find out who the amnesiac is, and what she has done. The best things about *Mulholland Drive* are also its inevitable liabilities: experienced movie-lovers will wallow in the pleasure of Lynch's oddballs and his complete disregard for conventional storytelling . . . and they will also get rather fed up with the director's self-indulgence. The last 30 minutes almost destroy the movie as a whole, and it's too bad, because Lynch was really on a roll. The first 2 hours were confusing, but you somehow cared about the characters and what would happen next. During the last half-hour, Lynch abruptly thumbs his nose at us. It's as if he's full of loathing for the movie, himself, and especially the audience. Perhaps he realized midstream that he HAD no ending for this weirdness - which is fine, but why have such an artistic tantrum about it? He TOTALLY loses control of his own production. I recommend *Mulholland Drive* on the strength of the first 2 hours.
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