Rating: 
Summary: Dreams and Nightmares
Review: Betty is an annoyingly perky Hollywood hopeful. Rita is an amnesiac who crawls out of a limo involved in an accident - narrowly avoiding being murdered by its driver. The two meet when Rita sneaks into Betty's aunt's house and then fall in love. With Betty and Rita turning into detectives in the Nancy-Drew mold, they uncover what may be clues to Rita's true identity. Betty balances her amateur detective work, new love life and her plans to star in a break-out role in the film, "The Sylvia North Story". Meanwhile, a sinister cabal intimidates Adam Kesher, the film's luckless and spineless director into casting a starlet named Camilla for Betty's role. As Betty, who appears more blonde than Sandra Dee, feels her love for Rita deepen, she also gets closer to the truth about her amnesiac lover. We learn a thing or two as well - in seemingly unconnected scenes showing the director's shadowy masters; a hitman who kills seemingly out of compulsion; a chillingly glib cowboy who may offer the director a way out; two guys shmoozing about nightmares in a restaurant; a monster hiding behind a parking lot; and a blue box....And then, it begins to go awry, with the illusions giving way to an entirely different existence for our characters. The scenes seem more dream like and illogical, but Lynch gives us more clues. And most importantly, the characters seem to change identities completely. The exotic yet meek Rita is now the much-desired Camilla, a Hollywood superstar who can live without Betty (or Diane). The much-desired Betty becomes the blowsy Diane, a one-time Hollywood hopeful whose dream ended when she lost the lead in "The Sylvia North Story" to Camilla. Although still dream-like, the latter part of the film is so bleak and dispiriting that we're supposed to think it a dream more routed in reality than the one the movie began with - with Betty's hopes and dreams becoming Diane's unachievable desires. Now, Camilla is Diane's former lover - an affair that Diane is incapable of maintaining even in her imagination (even the dream Camilla dumps Diane). To underscore Diane's shame, Lynch reunites her with Camilla at dinner party at Adam Kesher's house where he and Camilla are about to announce their engagement). The newer Kesher is stronger and more resilient the Kesher of Betty's world - even though they both dumped Betty/Diane for "The Sylvia North" story. Diane's home (and her life) is an empty husk - she lives alone and never seems to leave, except when she brings a wad of cash and Camilla's picture to that hitman. Day becomes night, shrouding her in shadow as she sits listlessly on her couch, unable to even dream of an idealized version of her hopes. Between the dreams of hope that open this flick and the nightmares of memories that won't die in the latter half, the characters seem menaced by a blue box. (IMNSHO, the box symbolizes TV, a wasteland for those who couldn't match their dreams for movie stardom - the big plot and character shift occurs when Rita opens the box, and is sucked inside; Because Lynch makes MD an obvious elegy to a lost Hollywood, TV becomes an obvious avatar of its demise and its character's pain). Though cryptic, "Mulholland" is not quite incomprehensible - it's more of a puzzle, and you and your friends can probably come up with dozens of your own spins on Lynch's loopy twists (and you should bring along a friend - loneliness becomes very palpable here). "Mulholland" originally began as a TV mini-series, eventually morphing into a more ambitious project for TV. It's unclear how much of the film's "bicameral" structure (the idea of splitting the plot into a dream and the "real life" that created it) originated before "Mulholland" made the leap to the big screen. Despite the film's consistently cryptic and creepy atmosphere, Lynch develops an emotional coherence that keeps you tied to the screen. Lynch brilliantly pulls this off at the dinner-party scene in which Kesher's family and friends hear of Diane's less-than-spectacular Hollywood adventures, and we learn of Diane's seemingly bottomless reservoir of pity (we see how unreachable Camilla has become to her, and this is also when we learn that it was Camilla who beat Diane to stardom). Lynch has managed to bring some of the pathos of "The Straight Story" to his trademark world of nightmares, cigarettes, mysterious strangers and all-nite-diners.
Rating: 
Summary: That Guy Really Didn't Care For His Espresso
Review: Great movie, it reminds me a little of an earlier Lynch film LOST HIGHWAY, which also dealt with the theme of people unable to remember, or perhaps deliberately blocking, something terrible they'd done or something that had been done to them. But this one has a better story to it, I think. The first 90 minutes is almost like a Nancy Drew mystery story, with the ultra-perky blonde, wanna-be actress (you can imagine her expostulating things like, "Oh golly!" and "Gee whiz!", though I don't recall if she actually goes quite that far) helping an amnesia victim recover her memory. Then the story takes a major, psychologically disturbing turn into Dark Weirdness in the last hour or so. Several very "Twin Peaks" scenes in the film, particularly with the surreal music show in front of the red curtains and also the dwarf wearing the cowboy outfit. I was browsing through some of the earlier reviews, looking at some of the interpretations others have of the film. My own involves a cyclic life/punishment theory, where the characters are repeatedly given the opportunity to make decisions and then punished when they make the wrong choice. Remember, the cowboy guy says something to the director like, "If you choose right, you will see me one more time. If you choose wrong, you will see me two more times." And the part where the assassin tells the girl, "If you give me the money, it's a done deal. You sure you want this?" And she says: "More than anything in this life."
Rating: 
Summary: Pretentious or genius
Review: It's been said there's often a thin line between pretention and genius, and the director comes perilously close to crossing the line ten times over. The dream sequences, the idea of 'No hay banda', the lesbian activity...all pulled from the mess of hollywood cliches and thrown together into the weird psychological film, 'Mulholland Drive'. If you have a night to sit down and work out the actual line of events, the storyline, and what the hell the blue box symbolises, this is a very good film indeed. For light entertainment, you'd do better sitting in a dark room, hitting yourself with the DVD box. The pretention of the film distinctly put me off: I found the lack of meaning in some of the weird scenes irritating, difficult to follow and generally disappointing. Equally I found the representation of her ego (the two old parents), the huge culmination and some of the more simple ideas excellently portrayed and very enjoyable indeed. A film that stray from the sublime to the ridiculous, that ends too late or prematurely, that is a mixture of genius and pretention; that is Mulholland Drive. Enjoy if you will!
Rating: 
Summary: YUCK!!!
Review: This movie reminded me of another terrible movie, "Titus" (Shakespeare on a bad acid trip). Actually, the movies were quite different; but both were strange, perplexing, and unsatisfying. Even after reading several of the five-star reviews on this site, I still do not understand why either movie got such critical acclaim, or why Mulholland Drive was nominated for an academy award. I rented this movie because of the rave reviews quoted on the cover, claiming that it was "hypnotic" "beautiful" and "suspenseful". Was I ever surprised! It was one of the worst movies I can ever remember watching. The beginning is somewhat interesting, but it quickly deteriorates into a confusing, tedious, rambling mess. I kept hoping that it would improve, but it didn't. Sitting through this film was an unpleasant experience... Obviously, art (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder. Since I don't have a degree in art appreciation, much of the "meaning" my have gone over my head. Many good movies, especially thrillers, require thought in order to be understood and enjoyed. However, after giving this a lot of thought, I still think Mulholland Drive sucks.
Rating:
Summary: "...just another lost angel.....city of light"- The Doors
Review: "Love, only in my dreams....as real as it may seem..it was only in my dream."- D. Gibson "Just a dream, just a dream... all our plans and all our schemes. How could I think you'd be mine...? The lies I tell myself each time."- old 50's song Haunting, Beautiful, Compelling, Addictive, Heartbreaking, Oh so Hearbreaking. Genius Mulholland Drive is equal parts film-noir mystery, a camp Hollywood parody, a comedy, a drama, and most of all and central to everything else: a love story- Hollywood style. Of course, director David Lynch(known for his inclination towards a Fun-House mirror warping sense of reality) then takes all these equal parts, adds a heavy dash of surrealism and TB full of DMT(thats acid to you innocents) to serve up a masterpiece. Everyone talks about making a film that is also a work of art, but few are the real McCoy. Forget 'The Hours', 'A Beautiful Mind' or the dreaded 'Chicago'. Mulholland Drive is the genuine article, and probably one the most well crafted and truly artistic commercial film in years. Open up the notebook kids, Mr. Lynch has officially announced that school is in session. "Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real?"-Neo Muholland Drive is..lucid dreaming, or the kind of intense dreams you have when you have a fever- part hallucination, part dream, part fantasy. Sleepwalking in your sleep. Its not so much a film or a movie, but to sound cliche, it truly is an experience. Sensations, emotions, impressions, and reactions are as important( or maybe moreso) than the who what why and where of things. Making love is about more than the concrete mechanics. The abstract feelings and emotions must compliment the kinetics. The sum is greater than its parts. There is not one wasted shot or misplaced direction in this film; everything falls into place masterfully. Mosaic, tapestry, loom, whatever cliche you can think to illustrate this point, it applies. I liken it to Jackson Pollack and his paintings about which he used to say that there were never any 'accidents' in his painting ea random element had the freedom to become whatever the painting wanted it to be in the end; methodical madness. David Lynch shows the same seemingly open-ended , but deceptively crafted control. Of course, some elements are more(or less) concrete than others, but even vagueness has its place in a film like this. There is no obfuscation, no befuddlement for the sake of befuddlement(or more to the point, b/c the writer or director had no real resolution for a troublesome plot element). The importance of symbolism and totems in a film like this cannot be understated. "Speak to me in riddle, Speak to me in rhyme" Some art or artists can speak to your on a cerebral level and still manage to inflame the imagination. Theories on the nature of physics and the origins of the universe can be awe inspiring- humbling. Unfathomable. The theory of relativity as poetry. A moon shuttle launch as an allegory to the story of Prometheus and Fire.
Other works of art or artists beckon you with words and images that flout logical explanation, but speak to you on a more emotionally immediate level; a visceral jolt, an intuitive understanding. Plath with her declaration " I rise with my red hair, and I eat men like air". A Monet painting. Still photography. These elicit an emotive, primitive response- which compels you to search for meaning; to analyze, deconstruct and as the 'Cowboy' says, to "Think". David Lynch shows his genius with this film- he does both. A.N.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible movie. Wicked Wicked Wicked
Review: 1) In defense of the hard-to-follow'ers: When I first watched this I thought that the dark-haired actress was the main character and figured that the blonde was going to be a stereo-typical hollywood blonde to serve as a supporting character. Also, I didn't pay attention to the first scenes of the movie while the credits were running. So I missed what I now know(hopefully, can't be too sure of anything) was the introduction of the main character and her parents. Needless to say I was more than a bit confused toward the end of the movie when the numerous switcheroos of chronology and character identities kick in.
2) Not exactly feel-good-hit-of-the-summer fare:
The portrayal of the depths of her fantasy with bits of the horror of reality creeping in is really extraordinary. Her being a wonderful actress, staying in a lovely apartment in sunny LA with her love interest dependent on her, a beautiful singing pixie who is bold and loved. Inescapable truth, her fear and dread, taints the fantasy. She even sees her own fate, though not consciously recognized because it is a dream.
3) Silencio, Silencio...Death, Death: The scene at the theater with the Spanish version of Crying is really great. Helps turn the tone darker and sadder and bridges the story moreso from dream to reality.
4) As the third Lynch movie I have seen, Fire Walk With Me and Blue Velvet the other two, I would have to put this one as the highest in the mind-blowing category. Which is saying a lot, since the other two are way, way, way, way out there as well.
5) Thank you Mr. Lynch.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest Lynch.
Review: With Twin Peaks, the greatest Lynch. Thank's David.
Rating:
Summary: If you haven't seen it yet, please don't read this ...
Review: I have a somewhat conflicting interpretation of the story - I wonder if I overlooked something that one of you could point out.
At the end of the film I had the impression that Camilla did survive the accident very badly burnt and that "the face" behind Winky's is hers (consider that she has the blue box). The plot has a real strand and a dreamlike strand. The former are the attempted murder, the accident, and the scenes at Winky's. The latter are ramblings of Camilla's mind as she is trying to make sense of the accident while her memory is partially coming back. She is confused about her identity and sees everything from Diane's perspective. The "coming back" is reflected in her gradual realization that the roles of Diane and Camilla in the "dream" are reversed. Camilla is initially the protege and Diane is in control, but we later find out that it was the other way around: Camilla, the star, used Diane, the commonplace debutante, and then dropped her. In her recollections, Camilla gets to the point where she wakes up in the night and begins to realize it's all wrong somehow. Then the movie tells who Diane really was and how she brought about the accident. The story ends with the opening scenes: Camilla has not recovered her identity, the hitman continues to look for her (he asks the Winky's waitress to keep her eyes open for anyone new in the neighborhood). The young man with the visions of "the face" sees her ...
Rating:
Summary: "Here's to love."
Review: It begins with a jitterbug, ends with a suicide, and seems to spike through everything both hopeful and hopeless about L.A.'s film industry in between. David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. may very well be his single best achievement in noiresque narrative mixed with his trademark skips and jumps in logic. Brilliantly acted, shot, edited, mixed and scored, Mulholland Dr. may or may not make sense to what no doubt will be a bewildered viewer, but the images conveyed in the interim prove unforgettable. Read about the plot in the "Plot Outline" link or in the external reviews by Roger Ebert, David Edelstein or Kenneth Turan. I want to present something else here: the notion that what you're seeing does, in fact, exhibit a logic and brilliantly plays on so many emotional levels that, taken as a whole, Mulholland Dr. can unsettle not just those who don't get it but, worse still, those who do. So many reviewers use the term "dream" to describe this film, and Lynch himself cleverly quips the tagline "A love story in the city of dreams." I won't go into every detail in order to completely spoil someone else's first-time enjoyment of the film, but let me go far enough to ask that you consider that what's shown is a dream through most of the movie and that the rest is a mix of imagination, delusion, memory, guilt, and sheer disgust, all made to counter the illusions just shown to you. Consider that much of what you're seeing isn't just coming from the mind of Lynch as filmmaker but from the dreamer as the one sometimes incorrectly interpreting L.A.'s lifestyle. Even Betty, the movie's heroine, refers to where she is as a "dream place." Consider that the Club Silencio is where the dreamer reaches the closest point to realizing the truth without being told it, where the environment of the dream is revealed, where the song elucidates more than just a point about the dimensions of sight and sound when they're not real: it uncovers a true feeling underscoring the entire dream. The song is sung in Spanish, one more way to show that it's not completely real or understandable while, at the same time, it teems with a very real, underlying feeling that brought the dreamer to her dream and, later, to her unflinching, gruesome reality. It's as if the Spanish singer is speaking the emotion but in a way that keeps the dreamer from fully realizing it. Consider that Betty and Rita, as the critics put it, are archetypes of the dream but that Laura Elena Harring's and Naomi Watts' characters in the end, after a jarring switch in identities, are also archetypes but, unfortunately, pale-faced reflections of what we know and what is true not just about Hollywood but about life in general. The movie isn't just about image or illusion. It embodies the always contradictory but yet congregational experiences of lust, greed, hatred, ambition, luck, vengeance, guilt, manipulation, storytelling, love, and silence. It shows us how one person's fortune can become another person's aching, how one person's jealousy can be another's nourishment. It also forces us to consider how you can be jealous of the one you love. And, just as important, Mulholland Dr. should not merely be looked at as a puzzle whose pieces one can connect if one reads David Lynch's primer on the rear of the insert in the DVD package. Voluptuous images should be taken in and felt without deconstruction. The emotions being played out are very real whether or not the viewer truly understands the plot. In all, David Lynch has created not just a memorable motion picture but a truly emotional experience.
Rating:
Summary: dont try so hard to understand it.
Review: Even if Mr. Chronological's interpretation of this film is correct, this type of narrative construction can hardly be considered simple to follow. This film is deliberately confusing, as Lynch films are more like dreams than conventional stories. If Mulholland Drive would have been constructed in a fashion that was simple to follow, it would not have the same dramatic effect. This film is open to many interpretations, and trying to simplify something that is intentionally complicated is not the answer.
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