Twin Peaks is now 35 years old but over the weekend I honoured the memory of David Lynch by watching Mulholland Drive. The 2000 movie is one of Lynch's most lauded. Generally most people consider either Mulholland Drive or Blue Velvet to be his best film. Mulholland Drive frequently ranks number one on Best Films of the 2000s lists, as well as lists of Best Films of the 21st century. I certainly like it.
It's become fashionable among some circles to consider Lost Highway to be kind of a rough draft for Mulholland Drive. They do have some things in common. They're both set in LA (they form the first two parts of what's sometimes called Lynch's LA trilogy, which concluded with Inland Empire) and they both feature characters who become other characters and who perceive other characters as becoming other characters. In both of them, substantial portions of the film are likely entirely in the main character's head.
The main difference, besides the fact that Mulholland Drive is generally better liked, is that Mulholland Drive has a much more logical narrative. Despite many people claiming to be confused by the film, it's actually very easy to understand, whereas Lost Highway is deliberately obtuse. Lost Highway is confusing because its protagonist is confused. This puts you in his perspective. Certainly, Mulholland Drive puts you in the perspective of Naomi Watts' character, especially in the last act, which features some of the most emotionally gripping scenes of Lynch's career. But perhaps we don't share in her disorientation. Maybe she isn't truly as disorientated as Bill Pullman's character in Lost Highway. It could be she knows exactly what she's doing the whole time. Maybe on some level she does but I'm inclined to think she's successfully deceiving herself, which leads to the effectively horrific conclusion.
I would say the primary reason Mulholland Drive is liked better than Lost Highway and Inland Empire is that it stars pretty young women. That always makes a difference. Certainly they're worthy of their roles. It remains Naomi Watts' best role, as much as I did enjoy Janey E.
The Club Silencio scene is practically a scene from an early French New Wave movie. The whole point Lynch makes with dubbing and language could've come straight from a Godard film. Except while Godard plays tricks with sound and editing to take you behind the curtain in a sort of cool, intellectual way, Lynch uses it to show how heartbreaking it can truly be to find this world you've put your heart and soul in may amount to nothing but surface. This is a movie that breaks my heart every time. This one and Kurosawa's Ikiru are the only movies that reliably make me feel like crying.
X Sonnet 1932
A set of random pens were pooped at lunch.
A thousand barrels blocked the river's course.
Banana pipes were bloated past a bunch.
A silent train conveyed a paper horse.
No breakfast thoughts invade the afternoon.
A morning face was seen as time explodes.
A group of thugs would not be called a goon.
Respect for crackers surely now erodes.
A careful ear could crack the corn from cobs.
You must recall a kernel conjures pop.
Its just your time the system daily robs.
A layer cake was shaped to ape a cop.
For fluffy births, the science doesn't kneel.
A rigid hand would take the crazy wheel.
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