Mulholland Drive: Genius or Garbage?

[IronMaxipad]

I don't think a movie has ever confused me as much as this one.



The first time I saw Mulholland Drive, I absolutely despised it. I thought that David Lynch was a narcissist who is so enamored by his own creativity that he made a film incomprehensible to everyone but himself. It seemed to be one of those films that's just weird for the sake of being weird.

Well, it just happened to get added to Netflix Instant Streaming this week, so I decided to give it another go. And this time, I really enjoyed it. It frustrates me to no end (which is obviously intentional), but I could kind of see what Lynch was trying to do. Sort of. Maybe.

The funny thing is, I have a feeling that the next time I watch it, I'll probably go back to hating it again. It's just that kind of a film, I guess.

So, what are your thoughts on Mulholland Drive?

[Spurminator]

My thoughts...

The first time I saw Mulholland Drive, I absolutely despised it. I thought that David Lynch was a narcissist who is so enamored by his own creativity that he made a film incomprehensible to everyone but himself. It seemed to be one of those films that's just weird for the sake of being weird.

Well, it stuck with me for a long time and I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to give it another go. And that time, I really enjoyed it.

And I bought it on DVD and have watched it several times since.

[CuckingFunt]

Genius or garbage? Probably neither.

I've loved it every time I've watched it. Far more than some of his films, but far less than others. The parts that work are, I think, fantastic and effectively haunting. But there are a lot of bits and pieces left undeveloped, probably because they're remnants from the original plan to make it a TV series.

And I do think that Lynch is narcissist who is enamored by his own creativity and weird for the sake of weird, but a) I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, and b) I sometimes doubt even he fully comprehends some of his weirdness.

[DeadlyDynasty]

That one scene with Laura Elena Harring and Naomi Watts automatically makes it genius.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

That one scene with Laura Elena Harring and Naomi Watts automatically makes it genius.

Took the words right out of my mouth. You are deadly.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Oh wait. Piss on you. You're a laker fan.

[boutons_deux]

"film incomprehensible"

totally, perfectly incomprehensible .... if you miss the first few seconds.

Rebeka del Rio's a capella Llorando, amazing voice, amazing scene.

A challenging, different, non-commercial film, which usually doesn't go down well, or at all, with American sheeple who prefer simple, obvious, predictable plots, lots of killing and wars, and comic book, cardboard characters.

No zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, wizards?

Every scene not saturated with CGI?

No mass murders? No wars the Americans always win?

No way America's gonna go for it.

[silverblk mystix]

this scene was pretty potent, and musically-the Orbison song and lyrics worked especially well in spanish...the lyrics seemed to carry more weight in spanish and I have always loved the Orbison version.Fantastic version and nice scene. 2nd best scene after the lezz love scene.
The familiar L.A./Hollywood area is showcased and kinda felt all too familiar when I first saw it as I lived a short walk from Mulholland Drive at the time.

[balli]

Personally, I think it beyond genius. I'd be lying if I said after repeated viewings that everything in the film is comprehensible to me, but I don't care. Watts performance is absolutely brilliant and brave. The main theme and argument about the illusionary nature of hollywood/fiction is important. The direction is as good as it gets. And the individual scenes, even if you don't understand exactly how they fit into the meta-narrative, are beyond well made and compelling as stand-alone pieces. It is commonly thought of critically as being the most important film of the 2000's, if not the best. I agree.

[Death In June]

Didn't care for it, or any of his movies outside of his run with Twin Peaks.

[Jacob1983]

One of the most overrated movies of all time and should not have received any Oscar nominations in my opinion.

[GoodOdor]

One of the most overrated movies of all time and should not have received any Oscar nominations in my opinion.

Says the guy who thought transformers 2 was a good movie.