(Rated R, 146 mins.)
Fans eager for David Lynch’s return to surrealism will be pleased. Like “Fire walk with me” in “Twin Peaks” this time the mantra is “this is the girl” said by everyone from an espresso drinking mobster to some cowboy and a few in between. These words won’t go away easily, because along Mullholland Drive, nothing is what it seems. In this complex tale of suspense, set in the unreal universe of Los Angeles, Lynch explores the city’ schizophrenic nature, an uneasy blend of innocence and corruption, love and loneliness, beauty and depravity skillfully constructed in a puzzle of sensual experiences until arriving at the intersection where dreams and nightmares meet. The funny twist comes from the love affair between two women Betty (Naomi Watts) and Rita (Laura Elena Harring) possibly the healthiest most believable love story ever in a Lynch movie. The two cross paths when after a car accident Harring develops amnesia and turns to a wannabe actress, the very convincing Watts, as the two try to piecemeal the crime scene. Lynch’s mood swings of mysterious and sometimes discomforting moments will make you laugh, cry and certainly think very hard especially during the spicy sex scenes between the two girls. David Lynch, by the way, walked away with the best director award at Cannes.
