Mulholland Drive
 

A couple of months ago I finally sat down and watched Mulholland Drive. This is a movie I had heard critics and fans rave about for a long time. I have to say I don't get the hype. I was never engaged in the story. I thought the acting was awful. The visuals were not particularly intriguing. By the time the movie got to the twist (which I had no prior knowledge of), I could have cared less. I definitely don't always love the films that everyone else loves, but I can usually appreciate what people see in them. So I genuinely want to know, what does everyone like about this film? Thanks in advance for the input.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Was this your first Lynch film? If so, there's a few things you should know:
-The acting is bad on purpose. It's meant to be campy.

-Plot doesn't matter, emotions do. Literature is the medium of plot, cinema conveys feeling much better, Lynch knows this.

-Films are a language, translating them to words is useless and ineffective. This is basically Lynch's motto.

I describe my love for Mulholland Dr. with one scene (copyright ruined the sound on the youtube one, here's a link that I can't embed that's the original http://vimeo.com/19215499 ):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Siq0QC8P9g

What do we know about the characters? Nothing. What's the greater significance of this in the plot? No idea. Yet when the scene happens, I feel these emotions bubbling. I'm scared, petrified really, anticipating what I know cannot be real, but yet it is. Cinema is inherently dream-like, and Lynch elevates that.

What do I know of the plot in Mulholland Dr.? Not much, I don't care to look for theories about what was really going on. What I do know are the feelings that are being shown. Guilt, shame, love, pain. These are all tangible in Lynch's film, and much more coherent than the plot. Mulholland Dr. evokes feeling much better than most films, and it does so without the help of clear narrative. It's pure cinema.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

I wouldn't consider myself a Lynch fan, but I still dig this one. Some of his films are so open and groundless that they cease to be interesting, but I think Mulholland Drive is one of his most structured works. The acting does vary from god awful to spot on, but as a technical filmmaker, Lynch is very talented in making amazing atmospheric stand alone scenes if not an entirely cohesive story.

The scene Bluedeed mentioned stops my heart everytime, it is the very sense of dread. Other great scenes I'd mention are the concert, Betty's audition, and everything at the end.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Thanks for the thoughts. It was my first Lynch film, I think I will give one more a try. I was thinking Blue Velvet, is this the best choice? I'm not a fan of campy and I think I probably need to know the characters a little better before they will evoke the emotion from me that you mentioned. I'm probably just shallow that way, but will give at least one more of his films a try. Interestingly if I had to pick a scene from this film that I did like, it would have either been the diner scene or the concert. Thanks again.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Blue Velvet is Lynch's best film and a great introduction to his work. I also suggest watching Twin Peaks, it's my favorite television show and a great investment of your time.

As for Mulholland Drive, it isn't too far behind Blue Velvet. In his best work there's always a sense of emotion and I think it works not just as a great puzzle box movie but also a heartbreaking romantic tragedy, at least on second viewing when the narrative structure is more familiar. Most of the film is a dream, so the bad acting is on purpose.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Blue Velvet is a very Lynchian film. It's much more of a typical noir than Mulholland Dr. It has many typical themes of his, a woman in danger, something sinister hiding just underneath the surface, a campy kind of satire of the way Hollywood makes movies (especially with the ending).

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Just watched this film, and it totally blew me away. All I can say is that Mulholland Dr. is an extraordinary piece of art.

I found the direction superb, and I loved the camera work, the soundtrack and the dark, mysterious and creepy atmosphere. I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy this but I never thought I'd like it this much.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Out of the Lynch films I watched, all were very good and Mullholand Drive was my favorite. I still haven't gotten around watching Blue Velvet.

Ludicrous. Naomi Watts gives a lead performance that should make other actresses envious, and everyone else does a fine job.

Of course, certain scenes in the film require the actors to ham it up, but it's intentional. Many movies do this, and there's a huge difference between hammy acting and bad acting. Take someone like John Barrymore for example, quite well known for hamming it up in his shows and films, and he was fantastic at it.

Most modern filmmakers prefer more subtle, realistic acting styles, but Lynch goes against the grain on this. It's obvious in almost all of his movies that he prefers a more classical, stage-acting style. Ever seen Sunset Boulevard? It's one of Lynch's favorite films, and I think it would give you a greater insight into the way he likes to direct his actors.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Hm... any thoughts on Eraserhead?
Or should I start a new thread?

I started an Eraserhead thread a little while ago. The link is here: http://www.movieforums.com/community...ght=eraserhead

Feel free to revive the discussion.

Sorry! I should've checked first! :blush:

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Had to bring this thread back. I love Mulholland Dr. Such a great,brain-teasing film.

At first watch I was baffled. Couldn't understand the plot of the movie at all.

I understood that day Lynch and Alcohol don't go together!

Had to go over Google to know the meaning. But have to say acting was one of the strongest aspects of the movie. Naomi Watts acting made the weird plot even more convincing!

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

She really knocked that role out of the park. Love this film!

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Having watched it a few times now, I don't rate it as high as I initially did, but I still think it's a great Lynch film. When I first watched it a large part of my rating was because it didn't really make sense, it was mysterious and powerful. Now I don't feel that as a film it's that complicated at all, and I think the plot is pretty straightforward when rearranged, and when watching it again it all makes sense and to me loses some of the mystery of it.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

The film is inextricably entangled with the main character's inner turmoil. It is almost entirely removed from objective observation. You are in her mind as it spirals down through self-deception and painful confrontation.

It is not badly acted. It is magnificently acted, if you understand that it is not a story being told through strict X-Y-Z narrative, but rather the film itself is as much who she is as the specific character you can focus on. Its structure informs you of her deteriorating interior reality.

I think anyone who thinks it is badly acted is unfamiliar with Lynch's style. Throughout all the Lynch films I have seen I have noticed similar acting styles, at times slightly over the top and unrealistic, there's always creepy characters, character's who laugh too much etc., he does it deliberately in order to make things seem more eerie and darker, and it works.

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Lynch films Are always underlying, don't watch them expecting anything normal. I love all lynch films and I would advise a good one to start out with would be Wild at heart with Nick Cage and Laura Dern , perhaps the only film I like with Nick Cage besides leaving las Vegas and Arizona

Re: Mulholland Drive
 

Yeah I like Blue Velvet, it's great but it's not better than mulholland dr. though. No way. Blue Velvet is honestly kinda straight forward for a Lynch film lol.