Mulholland Dr. (2001)

"Now you will see me one more time, if you do good. You will see me, two more times, if you do bad. Good night."

This is a film that I would never fault anyone for not liking and yet almost everyone I know inexplicably enjoys it. I, am of course, included in this category of person. Even though I have no idea what the hell is going on most of the time, it somehow remains entertaining all of the way through. For a movie that is pushing two and a half hours, that is quite a feat. For a movie that, at least on a first viewing, made no sense to me, that is nothing short of fantasmic.

Much to my surprise though, upon viewing it a second time, it actually did make a lot more sense to me. I don't know if this is due to the weakened state of my mental health now that I teach young children all day or the fact that I was expecting a lot of the craziness and was able to look past it this time. I will forgo giving any of my half hearted theories about what really happened and which dream sequence took place during which fantasy in an alternate reality and all of that. Honestly I kind of feel like thinking about it too hard is missing the point.

The undeniable fact was that there was a very powerful love story happening and weather or not it happened in the "real world" or in a plastic blue box it is extremely compelling. The Rita character is always somewhat angelic and mysterious and by the end of the film the audience falls in love with her too. It compels the viewer in a way that they are not just rooting for Diane's relationship in a third party type of way but in a way that they personally have a vested interest in the state of the relationship. As much as they clunky dialogue and surreal fantasy world in the first half are meant to take the viewer out of this film, this is how the second half of the film pulls the viewer in.

But these are just a few reasons why I enjoy this film. I think that the bulk of why I find something like this fascinating is just intangible. Frankly, I would rather not have someone sit down and explain to me exactly what happened and why or give a break down of the film in different time-lines and things, it just works more for me that way. Mulholland Dr. is about letting go and allowing yourself to step into David Lynch's brain for a little while, and yes, it is a scary place.

8/10