David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE as Pretentious Pacifier

Mulholland Drive used to be my favorite film. But ultimately it proved to be too slow, dark, arbitrary, postmodern, pretentious, paradoxically simplistic, self-indulgent, and silly to survive repeated viewings (including twice on much larger screens than my TV at home). One of the problems with Mulholland Drive is that things (e.g. freak accidents) just happen and the characters seem to have very little free will or freedom of choice and artistic expression.

This film is about limitations--the limitations of our world, Hollywood, filmmakers, language, the audience, even the limitations of cinema and film themselves. In spite of this, it seeks to impress the audience while seemingly knowing that its charms will be lost on many viewers who will be frustrated and bored by its slow, meandering, disjointed storyline. It couples the determinist tragedy of William Shakespeare with the unstructured literary and artistic freedom of beloved literary icons Jack Kerouac and Mircea Cărtărescu.

The blonde Betty seems so optimistic in the beginning, although the dialogues can sometimes seem kind of insipid or corny. And why is the elderly couple so evil, exchanging mischievous, knowing glances as if to say, "We did it"?

Maybe because it's slow, there's something strangely relaxing about Mulholland Drive (or at least most of it). It's definitely a film that likes to take its time; it doesn't rush. For the first couple of viewings, it might provoke some interest, thought, attention, and speculation, but all of that wanes over time. I'm ultimately forced to conclude that there's no there there. But maybe it's not the worst movie to watch if you're upset or want to relax or calm down. And even if Mulholland Drive manages to give you a high, it won't be an unpleasant one.

Mulholland Drive is also a movie about giving in and giving up (and being forced to give in and give up). David Lynch was into Hinduism and Transcendental Meditation, which he claimed helped him a lot (creatively and otherwise). Some people believe that meditation masks one's problems and doesn't necessarily lead to any truly great artistic creations or discoveries, that it's like a band-aid or anesthetic at best.

In this artsy film, there's also a comical hitman who accidentally shoots a morbidly obese woman. This scene is kind of funny and laughable in an absurd, hysterical, and morbid sort of way. This idiot hitman is portrayed by Mark Pellegrino, an actor who's also an Ayn Rand Objectivist.

Some people have speculated that the first half of the film is her (the protagonist's) dream (which has a fair amount of wish fulfilment and wishful thinking). Perhaps that would explain why the hitman is so clumsy and inept (in her dream). She's (subconsciously) regretting placing a hit on her ex-girlfriend who broke up with her?

Anyway, I still think this is one of David Lynch's most overrated films (although it's definitely not his worst one). I hope to sooner or later rewatch his other movies and TV shows and see how I feel about them, maybe even rank them. Regarding movies by other filmmakers, I'd definitely recommend The Science of Sleep (by Michel Gondry), as well as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (by Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman), Dogville (by Lars von Trier), Vanilla Sky (by Cameron Crowe), The Truman Show (by Peter Weir and Andrew Nichol), The Virgin Suicides (by Sofia Coppola), There's Something About Mary (by the Farrelly brothers), The Mask (by Chuck Russell and Mike Werb), Liar Liar (by Tom Shadyac, Paul Guay, and Stephen Mazur), Kill Bill (by Quentin Tarantino), The Hours (by Stephen Daldry and David Hare), and Wrong Turn (by Rob Schmidt and Alan B. McElroy, and starring Eliza Dushku).