Mulholland Drive

[Thomas Eckhardt]

David Monroe wrote, about "Mulholland Drive",

> Convince me.  

I am afraid this can't be done. A work of art usually
either works for you or it doesn't, and I think this
is especially true for the movies. What I like about
Lynch's best movies is that they fill me with a sense
of wonder. He forces me by means of his craft to
suspend my disbelief ("unwilling suspension of
disbelief" anyone?) and enter a slightly parallel
universe. These are cliches but, yes, I am thinking of
"confounding expectations" and narratives resembling
dreams - not totally incoherent but also not making
complete sense to the waking mind. See also "Vertigo"
and "Suspiria".

And "MD" contains scenes of breathtaking beauty. The
performance of Orbison's "Crying" in that mysterious
nightclub, for example. The scene at first seems to be
a rather heavy-handed approach to the perennial "what
you see (or hear in this case) is just an illusion"
topos. But this rational thought vanishes as we listen
to this incredibly beautiful version of this song, a
performance so immediate and overwhelming that the
illusion, so to speak, takes on a reality of its own. 
Something similar happens in the audition scene. 

It is a trick very similar to that moment in "Blue
Velvet" in which Dean Stockwell performs "In Dreams" -
a scene which Greil Marcus once accurately described
with the words: "Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the
whole movie seems to implode." (quoted from memory) -
which is one of my favourite movie scenes of all time.


I could go on, but I still have some sightseeing and
beachwalking left to do. I'll try to find the time to
see "Waking Life" in the remaining few days. Thanks
for the recommendation.

Thomas

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