Already the recipient of some serious praise in the United States and Cannes, Mulholland Drive is tipped to feature heavily in the nominations for March's Oscars. Maybe I'm not smart enough to understand it, but David Lynch's latest effort lacks a cohesive central narrative and believable characters. Clocking in at an ass numbing 146 minutes, the movie doesn't seem to have any real point other than willfully confusing the audience.
The main narrative thrust (or at least what I could make out) concerns a glamourous woman (Laura Elena Harring) who is suffering from a particularly nasty bout of amnesia. Hiding out in a plush LA apartment, she's discovered by the owner's niece, Betty (Watts) a young woman who has dreams of becoming a Hollywood actress. Inexplicably forming a bond, the pair set out to discover what happened to 'Rita' (the name Betty gives to her new friend) and why she has lost her memory.
Drawn out and extraordinarily meandering, the film lacks any real bite or indeed direction, appearing to be nothing more than a messy collection of beautifully shot photographs. Avoid unless you enjoy being confused.