Besides "Mulholland Drive", the only other works of David Lynch that I've seen are episodes of "Twin Peaks" on TV, and "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (a movie released after, but serving as a prologue to the TV show). I don't feel that this qualifies me to comment too much on Lynch's technique or recurring themes. But I can say this: "Mulholland Drive" is one of the most amazing movies made in my lifetime.
The movie tells the story of Betty (Naomi Watts) who has moved to L.A. with hopes of making it in the movies. Wait, it starts off by showing us an unnamed woman (Laura Elena Harring), who we will later come to know as Rita. She is involved in a terrible accident and loses her memory. Then these two women meet and a whole slew of interesting things start to happen. And soon, we start to question what we've seen, then we question those questions, and then we give up on trying to figure anything out. But we remain spellbound. Why? Because "Mulholland Drive" sucks us into a world that is so lush, mysterious, and alive that we can't look away. David Lynch has created a movie that plays out like a dream. There are nights when I dream up a world that feels similar to Betty and Rita's. That's what makes me love this movie so much. Just like in my dreams, things in the movie seem to happen out of order, or even without any plausible explanation. But it never feels wrong, and even makes a lot of sense after a while. The catch is, my dreams only make sense once I wake up and realize why I dreamt what I did. I start to understand that something I saw on TV before I went to bed showed up in my dream world, and so did the lady who collected my toll on the highway last week, as did many other things, people, places, feelings from my real life. Hmm...
I don't know exactly what David Lynch's intentions were when making "Mulholland Drive." Some critics have homed in on the somewhat cynical view Lynch seems to have of Hollywood. Others have spent lots of time trying to just figure out the damn plot. And still others have concluded that the movie is just a very interesting journey that ultimately cannot be explained. For me, it tells a beautiful but sad story of a sweet girl and her dreams. Whenever I see the final scene of this movie, I am haunted, touched, and saddened all at once.