Mulholland Dr.

Grade: C

David Lynch is at it again. There is no question that Lynch is capable of being one of the truly great Directors. He brings a perspective to his work that is rarely less than interesting and often visually stunning. He can bring you into his mind’s eye and hold you completely captivated. Unfortunately, Lynch needs to get off the drugs, or stop drinking large quantities of alcohol, or get some serious therapy before he will be capable of joining the cannon of great filmmakers. The first two-thirds of this film are simply wonderful – weird, fascinating, funny, with a look that is utterly unique and thoroughly absorbing. The characters are engrossing, with a wonderful performance from Naomi Watts – she’s one to watch for in the future. The final third of the film, however (beginning with a straight boy’s lesbian fantasy) is absolutely dreadful – confusing, pretentious, boring, choppy, contrived and ultimately meaningless. As a movie-goer, I don’t care if a film is someone’s dream or the first installment of what was supposed to be a television series – these are mere excuses allowing a Director to masturbate all over an audience. Scenes throughout the film are completely confused dead ends, adding to an unnecessarily drawn out movie. I don’t mind having lengthy conversations about the meaning of a movie – that’s part of the joy of film going. But I do mind have to force square pegs into round holes to convince myself that a movie makes any sense whatsoever. It is not a crime for a movie to be linear or comprehensible.

First two-thirds: A-
Last third: F
Final Grade: C

A film with so much promise leaves me very angry indeed.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0166924/