When David Lynch burst into prominence with Eraserhead in 1977, he came in a burst of cult flames. Weird, quirky, unashamed and without inhibitions, David Lynch took the boundaries of cinema and broke them into a million little pieces. Specialising in the strange and unusual, Lynch is a God when it’s comes to cult cinema. But what really made him, and one of his most critically acclaimed pieces of work, is Mulholland Drive a lesson in mysterious Hollywood, mind-bending narratives, and modern-noir story-telling.
Mulholland Drive has many different threads intertwined together. The film revolves around Betsy, a young upcoming actress who has just moved to LA in order to make it as a star. Staying at her aunt’s house, she is shocked to find a woman asleep there. Betty discovers that the woman is stricken with amnesia and has no idea who she is. What the pair aren’t aware of is that there is a sinister plot happening that could involve the both of them…
Mulholland Drive is a fervent and undeniably brilliant film that is packed full of themes so lovingly entangled together that it becomes a joy to unravel them. There have been many interpretations of the film, bestowing theory after glorious theory onto Lynch’s work that would make a film studies student squeal for delight. Alongside a captivating yet haunting atmosphere, that embroils you with unease and fear, Lynch ties together many different aspects of LA life including malevolent criminal figures, pretentious directors, budding Hollywood stars, and a twisting noir mystery. The visceral entity sinks in as you try to figure out what’s going on whilst also homaging classic Hollywood with bubbly and mysterious iconology.
The acting here is stellar. In fact, I’d go as far to say that Naomi Watts has never been better as she is in this film. Balancing a whimsical and bright-eyed Betty who earnestly wishes to help her new friend alongside the bitter and jaded Betty we see later on, the ingenue brings a believable quality to a character that twists throughout the screen time. The most triumphant moment is an audition scene that Betty tackles. It’s erotic, infallible, and filled with heated emotion. The gasp from the faux producers on the screen will echo within you, it’s perhaps one of the best cinematic moments of a performance inside a performance. Laura Harring is an apt counterpart to Watts’ Betty and there’s a juxtaposition between the forgetful Femme Fatale and the somewhat innocence of Betty is alluring and the pair have powerful scenes together.
Back on the big screen today, this 4K restoration is a must for any fans of David Lynch’s early noughties opus. Not only that but the cult classic will bewitch and ensnare any budding cinema enthusiasts. The theology and semantics of Lynch’s great noir movie courses over generations where film critics and lovers will churn over the story and it’s meaning for years to come. Filled with evocative imagery, a palpable and alluring atmosphere, as well as stellar acting from Watts, Mulholland Drive becomes a must for avid film lovers.
There’s only one way to end this review…
….silencio.
Mulholland Drive is out in cinemas now!
