Just like many other movie classics Mulholland Drive recently polishedwith a 4K restoration, a (justifiable) reason for the distributors to bringthe film back into the cinemas. In terms of promotion, the release received anunexpected boost in recent weeks, unfortunately partly due to the unexpecteddeath of composer Angelo Badalamenti, but also by taking eighth place in themost recent top hundred of Sight & Sound, a list compiled by more than athousand leading international film experts.
Or Mulholland Drive Lynch’s very best work or not depends on everyone’spersonal taste. Some go for the straight-line nature of The Straight Story_others tack for the experimental of _Eraserhad nostalgics swear by it TwinPeaks and others prefer Mulholland Drive.
The masterpiece was picked up at the last minute, because after the hugesuccess of TV studio ABC, it was the intention to Twin Peaks to let theeccentric fairy tale teller make another series, so what _Mulholland Drive_should have been. For all sorts of reasons people backtracked and the pilotepisode remained unfinished on the shelf. It was the French producer AlainSarde who made sure that the project did not end up in the garbage. Under hisimpulse there was a film and one that twenty years later would become one ofthe best titles in contemporary cinema.
Evil tongues sometimes claim that you notice that Mulholland Drive is anunfinished television series, but they forget to add an important comma tothat lame remark. Namely that you can never understand a surrealist fairy taleby Lynch one hundred percent. The film magic lies in the fact that this workof art can be interpreted in different ways and in which you can discoversomething new after every viewing. Lynchian is one of the most used adjectivesin film reviews, not by chance.
The bizarre story in which the Hollywood system gets a blow out of the pantakes place in the shadow of Mulholland Drive, the famous avenue that islocated near the world-famous Hollywood logo. Like many women, Betty Elms alsodreams of making it in the film world. Those who want to can’t help but nestlein Hollywood. She moves into a posh villa on Sunset Boulevard, but upon herarrival a confused young woman hides in her room.
The enigmatic woman doesn’t know who she is anymore, and has a bag full ofmoney and a strange blue key with her. The somewhat naive Betty falls in lovewith her and decides to help her find out who she is. It will be the start ofa surreal trip where nothing is what it seems and Lynch lets go of your handseveral times so that you don’t know which direction to follow.
Mulholland Drive is certainly not an easy ride, and afterwards you feel abit like that child who, although he has neatly completed his puzzle, quicklyrealizes that there are still a few pieces missing. Every time you start thepuzzle again you arrive at a different result, but without completing thepicture. And that’s just something Mulholland Drive makes it so unique.
For film fans who want everything ready-made, this can lead to frustration,and who knows, disgust, but it is still Mulholland Drive a masterpiece thatrepeatedly refers to film noir. In addition to its own film language, the filmhas become monumental because of Naomi Watts’ interpretation. As Hitchcock didso well, Lynch transforms her into an irresistible film diva who splashes offthe silver screen with every move. The eighth place in the top hundred of alltime is therefore more than deserved, and perhaps not high enough.