Rating: 
Summary: Broken Dreams and Damaged Hearts
Review: I love this film and having sifted through some of the other reviews (even the glowing ones) I feel the point of this film has been missed. Polanski has "Chinatown", Preminger has "Laura", Wilder has "Double Indemnity", and Hitchcock has "Vertigo". David Lynch has "Mulholland Drive".
This is a cinematic masterpiece and deserved the grand prize it won at Cannes and should have won the Oscar as well. This is Lynch's indictment of Hollywood and everything is perfect in this film. Naomi Watts as Betty and Laura Harring as Rita are absolutely fantastic in the key roles as is Justin Theroux as a Hollywood director. It is only three quarters of the way through this film that we come to realize that this masterwork Lynch has created is also a study in psycosis, brought on by the shattered dreams of stardom Betty no doubt had when she first arrived in Hollywood.
Naomi Watts is simply wonderful as the sweet girl from Deep River Ontario come to make good. She finds the sultry but shaken Laura Harring in her aunts house who is "out of town" and tries to help her regain her memory and figure out why she has lots of money and a blue key. Betty is sweet and open and "Rita" (the name Harring takes from a poster of "Gilda" in the apartment") is extemely vulnerable with no knowledge except that she was in an accident. We are shown the "accident" at the beginning of the film with billowing smoke surrounding the scene. What part is real and what is illusion becomes clearer later in the film.
It will take a couple of viewings to catch all the clues warning you what is to come. But they are enjoyable viewings. When you get it all figured out days later it is almost heartbreakingly sad. THAT is Lynch's POINT! Betty's basic decency and goodness propels her to help Rita as the two become closer than friends. Naomi comes to love Rita and this is expressed in one of the most erotically filmed scenes in film history. We are just a little in love with the sweetness of Betty ourselves and we want the two girls to solve the mystery and find love. Lynch has made us care about both girls, especially Betty at this point in the film and it is the fact that the scene is about love and not just sex that makes it what it is.
What we realize shortly afterward is by getting closer to solving the mystery of what happened on "Mulholland Drive" Betty is at the same time having to let go of this alternate reality she has created in her mind. Something did happen on Mulholland Drive. A sweet girl from Deep River, Ontario, working a dreary job and hanging on to the love of the girl who would always get the parts she couldn't, commits a desperate act so far removed from who she really is that that her mind has to create a better life for herself.
But in typical Lynch fashion, there are "mysterious goings on", forces bringing her back to the drearily sad and harsh reality that will bring about our worst fears for this sweet girl from Deep River Lynch has made us fall in love with.
There are great "Lynch" moments in this film, from an inept hitman, to the cowboy director Justin Theroux has to go meet in the Hollywood hills. Like Theroux says to his secretary with resignation "why not, it's been that kind of day". This is simply a mesmerizing film you will watch time and again not just to get it all figured out in your own mind but because it's so good you'll WANT to see it again. So what if it was origionally going to be a TV series. Every great film has some kind of great production story behind it.
Lynch has made one of the greatest films in the last ten years at least. This is his indictment of Hollywood and what the dream of stardom does to the innocent searching for it. The fact that it is done by way of a "Twin Peaks" atmosphere makes it as entertaining as it is thought provoking. We will never forget Betty after watching this film. Lynch doesn't want us to. Naomi Watts is wonderful in this Oscar caliber role and both Laura Harring and Justin Theroux were deserving as well.
The score by Angelo Badalamenti sets the mood perfectly for this film, from creating an atmosphere of doom in the opening accident scene to the desperately emotional love scene of Betty and Rita. Strap yourself in for a real ride. This is a truly great film you just have to see. It will stay in your head for a long time. For the reviewers who didn't get it and reviewed this film poorly, I have only one thing to whisper-"Silencio".......
Rating: 
Summary: This was the worst
Review: BORING!!!! I gave it one star because there are no negative stars. I really like David Lynch, but this totally lost me. It was boring - I kept waiting for something to happen. I can take it if all the loose ends are not neatly tied up - but when NONE of the loose ends are explained it is just too much. There were too many odd characters just apparently for the sake of having odd characters - they didn't mean anything, add anything, and were never explained. This is certainly NOT Lynch at his best - I loved Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, especially Wild At Heart, etc. etc. This however, was a huge waste of life.I am thankful that I only rented the DVD and did not pay to see this in the theater.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of dream logic
Review: This is a film about haunting -- and it will haunt you. (It kept me awake all night after I watched it.) A wonderful, little-known cast combine with David Lynch's mastery of disturbing imagery to create an unforgettable experience. The film has a reputation for being illogical, impossible to figure out. Not true! Its plot is constructed with all the rigor of a Greek tragedy. Just remember: dreams have their own logic; wish fulfillment is a large part of that logic; and to understand a dream, you have to know who the dreamer is.
Rating: 
Summary: Ho-hum
Review: Contrary to popular opinion, my feeling is that "Mulholland Drive" is derivative rather than original and pretentious rather than profound. In the spectrum of phantasmagoric settings, Los Angeles is a johnny-come-lately. The French were doing this sort of thing a good while ago--and much better. (Try, for instance, "Celine and Julie Go Boating.")
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for the movie, 0 for the DVD
Review: oh sweet sweet lord....this movie absolutely blew my mind to itty bitty pieces. i dont even know where to start this review, but first of all..you should know that i am no David Lynch fanatic..in fact this is the first movie of his that i've seen so i can give you faithful reader a un-biased report of this MASTERPIECE..... but be warned DO NOT under any circumstances buy this movie if you enjoy flicks such as Pearl Harbor, any Van Damme movie, or Crossroads (you get the idea) because i'll be the first to admit that i had absolutely NO idea what this movie was about after my first viewing.... when it ended i just kind of stared at the credits scrolling up the screen, jaw dropped, drool rolling down my chin...i had just recieved my first lobotomy. i never gave up on the movie..i knew it could be figured out so i watched it 3 more times...still didnt get it....it was only after browsing through a magazine did i accidentally stumble upon an explanation for the movie..... i wont give it away but after reading that article..the entire movie made sense..completely....right at that moment Mulholland Drive moved up the ranks in my "oh most favorite things the world" list... i swear to you people, the only reason this movie gets bad reviews is beacuse people dont understand it. seriously. this isnt just a bunch of random scenes edited together.... give this film a try...maybe you'll see the brilliance of this movie as well... oh oh...i forgot to mention how terrible the actual DVD is....just the option to play the movie...no special features...no director commentary....not even a scene selection menu (i kid you not) still a fantastic film though....
Rating:
Summary: Awesome trip from fantasy to reality
Review: Finally, a David Lynch movie worth watching! "Mulholland Drive" is an incredible film which contrasts the hopes and dreams that Hollywood generates in a young woman with the Hollywood reality that she lives. Don't go into this looking for a straightforward plot line. The "narrator" -- the young woman -- is unreliable, and the way she thinks the Hollywood world operates isn't necessarily so. We gradually discover that the early idealistic parts of the move are her fantasies about what Hollywood would do for her. What actually has become of her unfolds as Lynch takes us from fantasy to reality. By the end, I was blown away -- and I've hated about everything else the man made.
Rating:
Summary: Whether you "get it" or not, this movie is worth the ride!
Review: I'm not going to give away the plot details of the story like so many other reviewers have done here because I honestly feel that doing so will only compromise the artistry and impact of this film. But I have to say that I am completely flabbergasted by how many people did not get this movie! So many of today's movies want to be so blatantly obvious, and force their linear stories down our throats. I'm so tired of watching predictable plots that have neither substance nor appeal. And what makes me even crazier is that most of the studios, and worse yet many directors (and some actors) are convinced that this is what we all want! They think we're all babies that need to be spoon-fed a story in excruciating detail, instead of letting us connect-the-dots on our own! Then along comes this obscure little movie that I hardly knew anything about. I expected it to be pretty much the same as all the rest of those boring movies. Boy was I in for a surprise! All at once I get thrown into this abstract dream sequence that keeps me transfixed from beginning to end. So much so, that I couldn't sleep and I had to watch the movie again to try to fit the pieces together. That same night I had a long weird dream of my own. And I was suddenly reminded that our own dreams don't always make much sense either. Until we take a closer look. Well, then the whole movie finally made sense to me! In this movie David Lynch shows us how every subtle detail of our lives can wander into our sub-conscious. The people in our lives, as well as those on the periphery. The strangers that we see, but don't really notice. The stories we hear. Or the conversations that we accidentally (or purposely) eavesdrop. Our hopes and expectations, our disappointments, our fantasies can all appear in our dreams as some sort of twisted tale that winds in and out of our deepest thoughts, our most secret feelings, and even our gritty reality. Everything we know about ourselves, and even that which we cannot or will not admit to ourselves can be stolen from our sub-conscious mind and somehow wind up in our most vivid dreams. So for those of you who didn't get this movie, open your eyes! For every question that you may have about this movie, the answer is right there within the movie. The director leaves clues everywhere! If you would just take a closer look. David Lynch practically spoon-feeds us all of the details - just not in such a blatantly obvious way. He did what no other director is willing to do? He makes us work out the story for ourselves...with our own insights and interpretations. And I find that to be the best part of this movie...the fact that the director forces me to be a participant! Finally, I get to be the lead detective in the story! Watch this movie again and again. It gets better every time! And you will "get it" at some point. And even if you don't...oh, what a beautiful and intriguing ride it is! Laura Harring is astonishing and mesmerizing as the mysterious damsel/femme fatale! And Naomi Watts is absolutely unforgettable!
Rating:
Summary: I've never "experienced" a movie quite like that...
Review: My first impression when watching the film: I started asking myself "What the heck?" one hour into the film, and there's still no conflict, no action, no sex, nothing? What's going on? Then when the movie ended, I screamed "Huh???" "What???" The next phase of my epiphany came when I realized I wasn't the only one who "didn't get it". So I went to therapy. Just kidding. But I did find some help. I really enjoyed this movie only after reading countless reviews online, and watching the last half hour of the movie again. It makes perfect sense to me now. The important things to keep in mind are the main components of the story and to understand the time line. The whole movie movie can be categorized into: the fantasy (first 2 hours), the "real time" and "real life" story, and flashbacks in real life (interspersed scenes in the last half hour). The "real time" story of Diane Selwyn's life is only five minutes long. This "real time" story comprises the scenes: when she is woken up by her neighbor's knocking, lets her grab her stuff and sees the blue key (whereupon she realizes she had done something really bad), to her being haunted by the old man and woman and the fateful ending. Once these puzzles made sense to me, I realized how wonderfully made this movie really is. It's clever and brilliant. I must admit that the movie is pretty convoluted. Diane takes elements from her real life and constructs this incredible fantasy in her mind where she comes out on top; where she makes it in hollywood and even gets the girl ;) (). Some characters in her fantasy I could find no purpose to except to further interest/entice/enrage certain characters within the fantasy. The DVD version of the movie I watched contains a Clue Sheet with clues that'll help you unravel the mystery. It's not very helpful unless you understand what I explained in the previous paragraph. But once you "get it", the clues cause you to say "Wow!"On a different note, I enjoyed a song in the movie by Rebekah Del Rio called Lloranda (which means "crying" in Spanish). The viewer will also notice that there is no scene selection on the DVD's menu. This is intentional, along with the blurring of certain scenes and lack of other special features. It's David Lynch's way of telling us that "This is my film, I can do what I want with it. Respect that." To me, the movie IS the special feature. LEAP rating (each out of 5):
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L (Language) - 4.5 (lots of hidden references and funny remarks to us the audience)
E (Erotica) - 5 (i've never given such a high rating for a movie shown in theaters, so that tells you something)
A (Action) - 1 (the hitman scene in the fantasy is hilarious)
P (Plot) - 5 (confusing when unexplained, but very clever when understood) p.s. E-mail me if you would like to discuss more about this movie. :)
Rating:
Summary: Mulholland Deadend
Review: Please allow me to state that praises of this film are based on a pseudo intellectualism. There ain't nothing there to "get" [understand in a deep insightful way]. Mr. Lynch needs to backtrack in his ambitions. This kid wasn't fooled. The actors did a more than competent job, but were locked in a terrible script with minute by minute vacuity throughout the entire film.
Rating:
Summary: MULBERRY DIVE!
Review: Complete disappointment! Did not live up to the hype or praise. All these reviewers interpretating the meaning of this annoying piece are only accomplishing one thing: killing unnecessary brain cells. David Lynch's style of direction is mediocre at best and I feel I am being very generous. He accomplished one thing though: CONFUSION. Viewers who claim they perfectly understand this movie are kidding themselves. The movie is intentionally not meant to be understood. Each person that watches this garbage develops his or her own believing of what message this movie is conveying. Sadly, you are probably all wrong and David Lynch is secretly laughing at the audience. I believe he himself could not explain to you what is really going on, but that is what he wants. David Lynch has got a cult of viewers who are brainwashed into his heap. The acting was not very convincing and the movie did not grip me at all. I never felt mystery or anxiousness of trying to figure it out. I had a hard enough time avoid looking at my watch. The premise of a dream or fantasy as a plot could be very interesting but Lynch fails to execute. As I was watching, I could not help to wonder; what is the big deal? I found most of the scenes to be quite boring along with the numb characters. I did not feel the controversy. This movie is very, very, very, overrated!! To anyone who has not seen it, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. Believe all the hype and you most certainly will finish this film and feel betrayed.
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