Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive is a surreal dreamscape of a movie from David Lynch, the director of such films as Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. Lynch is famous for his bizarre style of filmmaking that leaves viewers thinking and doesn't condescend to explain all that happens. Mulholland Drive is no exception and unfolds in a sequence of cryptic events that at first seem unrelated and leave you to unravel the links between them.

The plot centres on two women; Rita (Laura Harring, a former Miss USA!), a mysterious survivor of a car crash and an attempt on her life, and Betty (Naomi Watts), a wannabe actress from smalltown Ohio. Betty, who is staying at her aunt's house, returns home to find Rita in her bathroom suffering from complete amnesia and with no idea of who she is. Together they try to unravel the mystery of Rita's identity and soon become close friends. So close in fact that they diffuse the tension with a lesbian sex scene.

Meanwhile the subplots reveal a twisted world of dreams coming true in a downtown restaurant, and midget mobsters blackmailing a movie director. Reality becomes illusion and the truth is revealed to be far from what it seems.

This movie is a pleasant change from the usual Hollywood blockbuster and will take you on a wild and thought provoking ride. Lynch's style of filmmaking may leave some viewers behind with its strangeness but those who enjoy deciphering his filmic puzzles will still be pondering its mysteries for a long time after.

Joseph Peel