Mulholland Drive's third act--WTF?!?!?!?!

[DerekG]

Disclaimer: I know this was originally intended to be a television series, but this does not absolve Lynch of what he actually put to celluloid.


I've just had the most frustrating 25 minutes of 2003--I've seen David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

I loved The Elephant Man.
I loved his Blue Velvet.
I loved the first season of Twin Peaks.
I loved The Straight Story.

But this, ThIs, THIS, TTTHIIIISSSSSS mother#^&*ing movie. The first two hours was (for the most part) a coherent mystery with wonderful actors, a haunting score, and brilliantly crafted set pieces. But then, the movie goes straight to hell with incomprehensible imagery courtesy of Lynch's dream inspiration. Everyone I talk to celebrates Lynch's astounding "courage" in presenting a vision that belies the usual Hollywood dreck. Oh, his dream!!! His dream!!

The thing of is, I don't care about other people's dreams, and I don't care about Lynch's. I like a damn movie that has a beginning, a middle, and (do you get this?) an actual ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!

I had an emotional investment with Watt's and Harring's characters and I felt like an ass as their arcs were eschewed in the name of profundity.

I know I'm overreacting here, but the first two acts of Mulholland Drive were among the best offered by our film auteurs. And then...

[NightTrain]

1. If you're looking for a coherent narrative...

...then why in god's name do you watch David Lynch films? Have you forgotten about "Eraserhead?"

[Kenneth ken]

2. Lynch

did Eraserhead? I didn't know that. No wonder I couldn't get through that thing.

thanks for solving a mystery. :D

[DerekG]

5. Eraserhead is an entirely different matter...

Eraserhead (wonderful movie) was never interested in character and plot, thus there was no disappointment.

[Kenneth ken]

7. well

the "wonder" of Eraserhead is how it ever got released.

And in fact, I was disappointed - I had heard good things about it.

Eraserhead was so bad it holds the top three spots on my 10-worst all time films list.

[Cleita]

3. I watched it twice to see if it could make sense and I

missed something, but I didn't. It didn't make sense.

[sleipnir]

4. Crazy huh!

First time I saw it (on DVD) I stayed up till 4 Am re-watching the whole movie, very confusing, but it makes a ton of more sense when you re-watch it...Great movie, IMO, but it took me several hours and days to come to that conclusion.

Also, the third act is about the point when Lynch ran out of material that was to be the TV show, so they had to come up with an ending in about 30 minutes as opposed to 350...

I'm not sure if you've read this, but it's Lynch's offical response to the exact sort of reaction you had, absoulute f*ing confusion...

David Lynch's 10 Clues to Unlocking This Thriller:

-Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film: at least two clues are revealed before the credits.

-Notice appearances of the red lampshade.

-Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?

-An accident is a terrible event... notice the location of the accident.

-Who gives a key, and why?

-Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.

-What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?

-Did talent alone help Camilla?

-Notice the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkies.

-Where is Aunt Ruth?

[RainDog]

6. I love Mulholland Drive. I think it's a great movie.

in fact, it's my favority Lynch movie. so there.

..but then, I Dead Man, by Jarmusch, is one of my very favorite movies, and I also loved Memento.

if you know those movies, you have an idea of the structure of Mulholland Drive.

If you really want, I'd be happy to give you my take on it, but it's in pdf format, and since I wrote what I did about the movie, someone on this board said some really interesting things about the "Silencio" moment which would add to the whole concept of the movie as a "dream of L.A."

watch it again. watch how the movie opens, as someone else said here. Think about dream logic...how people morph in dreams, and someone says something in real life, but it appears in a dream in a different way.

the thing I like about this one, compared to so many other Lynch films, is that he has females who are somehow recognizable to me, unlike Rosselini's character in Blue Velvet, or Arquette's in Lost Highway. (I wasn't too fond of that one, btw.)

[girl gone mad]

8. Personally,

Mulholland Drive is one of my favorite all time movies. I was very disappointed to see so many abd reviews of it on IMDB. Kind of like first realizing not everybody shares your politcal views.

[RainDog]

10. I assume you're also female

by your DU name.

I don't think you have to be female to "get it," obviously, since Lynch isn't. But I do think he was able to say something about being female, while creating a human story, not bound by gender, which most male writers and/or directors never even get close to, especially in the male-centric Hollyweird view of females which too often seems to be stuck in some infantile madonna/whore hiccup.

The "Silencio" song moment had the same effect on me that "Thelma and Louise" did at the end...both sort of took my breath away. And made me want to cry.

And as far as the tv vs movie issue goes...Lynch apparently changed enough of the original story to get sole writing credit, while the tv version was a shared credit.

I think the tv vs movie issue come up with characters like the dwarf and the whole detective story which is really truncated.

"Is all that we see or seem, but a dream within a dream?"

[wtmusic]

9. Mulholland Drive is a pretentious piece of shit

There ya have it.

[RainDog]

11. bite me

your momma is so ugly, they made gorillas in the mist in her shower.

[leftofthedial]

12. stick with TV series

they always make sense

[annagull]

13. I liked it alot

I think it was such good acting, great storyline. I love how the dream girl goes bad, or actually becomes reality. I thought the characters were LA to the bone, this is a fantastic film. Of course, it's not to everyone's taste so that's cool. I don't like watching football, either. :-)

[regnaD kciN]

14. It's really very simple...

...the "first two acts" are the dream of the woman in the "third act" -- her fantasy of how things could have turned out well instead of tragically. The last part is what really happened.