|
"Mulholland
Drive"
|
By Mira Harber
Before you
read this review, you need to know that up until now, I considered myself
a David Lynch fan - I really liked Twin Peaks, and thought Blue Velvet
was a fascinating movie. That said, I went into the theater to see Mulholland
Dr. with great anticipation. If you are one of those people who believe
that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, then stop
reading this review. As I left the theater, my first thought was “I want
that 2 1/2 hours of my life back. What a waste of time”.
Once you’ve
seen some of David Lynch’s work, you are familiar with some of the themes
- the elusive, mysterious characters and his use of color - deep, deep
blue (as in Blue Velvet) and crimson red. OK - I’ve seen it all before,
so you’d better make it different enough to make it pretty darn interesting,
or why bother?
The movie begins
promisingly enough with a beautiful woman, car crash, lots of $$$ in the
now amnesiac woman’s purse, a dewy-eyed ingenue, Hollywood stereotypes
galore - the ‘independent’ director, the sleazy leading man, menacing money-men
& slime ball criminals. Sounds pretty good on paper, doesn’t it?
I’ve read some
reviews that compare this movie favorably with Memento. Don’t kid yourself
- that movie leaves this one in the dust. I don’t want to give too much
away regarding the plot because that will spoil Mulholland Dr. for you.
Suffice it to say that it has a dreamlike, baffling quality that works
quite well in some spots and is just plain irritating in others.
It felt as
if David Lynch thought he might not get another chance at a film (this
movie was originally intended as a television series - even HBO wouldn’t
take it on) and so Mr.Lynch just stuck all of his ideas, coherent or not,
in keeping with the plot, or not, and mixed them all up together. It doesn’t
work.
Mulholland
Drive reminds me of a lot of the rubbish that we’re inflicted with on MTV
- nonsensical videos that we’re supposed to import meaning to, when really
it’s a case of the Emporer’s New Clothes.
If you’ve got
a few hours of your life that you don’t mind losing, are interested in
seeing some lesbian love-making and think that David Lynch is profound,
Mulholland Drive is for you. I’d rather stay home and rent Memento. AGAIN. |
|
