wildcat

Mulhollend Dr. managed to piss me off more than any other movie I know. At the end of it, I had absolutely no clue what had just occured. My then boyfriend was kind of enough to take the 30 minutes required to explain the thing.

Now . . . I don;t mind being a bit confused by a movie, or having to see it more than once to figure out the details. But to have to have it explained aftewards because it makes no sense is just dumb and made me mad. It's a silly movie.

It's a brilliant movie. The superficiality of the characters for the first 2/3 of the film is deliberate, so stopping it halfway through was totally a waste of time. I suppose you didn't even make it to the lipsynching scene, which is phenomenal and you would probably love it.

The movie is intended to be a genuine mystery. Not a spoon-fed formula mystery with a clear resolution, but rather a piece of art which engenders a genuine sense of unexplainable mystery in its viewers. Obviously Mr. Lynch challenges people in ways which are incongruous with mainstream expectations of cinema, which often leads to narrow dismissals like "silly". Too bad. If you just let it wash over you, and let go of of the ridiculous notion that filmmakers are somehow obligated to present their work to viewers within frameworks of coventional narrative and character, Mulholland Drive could be one of the most rewarding films you will ever see, like it was for me. But only if you allow yourself to get to the end of it.

Mmn. I suspect that this is a bit like it was when I tried to read "Valis" for the first time - I just honestly wasn't ready up here (points to forebrain) to handle the character alienation. I'll probably end up renting it sometime soon and watching it, to get myself back into the Lynchian mind frame. I hate when art irritates or frustrates me because I want to know why. I need to view the whole thing and get it to work in my head.

O, how I hate to be limited.