Originally, I chose to pass on the screening of this film, however after hearing so much about it from friends and fellow reviewers I felt somewhat obligated and curious to view it myself. If you're feeling the same way, perhaps this review will help. Or, if you've seen it already ... it certainly is a movie of which to seek alternative interpretations.

When a car accident foils an attempted crime, a beautiful women stumbles from the wreckage with a severe case of amnesia. A bright-eyed aspiring actress takes her in and the two endeavor to piece together her identity amidst a collage of underworld activity that corrupts the already insane inner workings of Hollywood.

The first third of this nearly 2.5-hour flick clearly slacks. The acting is bad, the scripting, editing and especially the music ... all pretty awful. The only redeeming moments include an odd ritualistic like espresso taste test failure, a fresh "finding your lover with another" sequence, and the appearance of a stern cowboy to contrast the spoiled child behavior of a Hollywood director. These three very tasty scenes suffocate in forty-five minutes of slow poor cinema.

The question of course, "Is this inferior first act intentional?" After all, writer/director David Lynch is no newcomer to production (I loved "Straight Story"). And a few clues (excuses?) may be seen as indicators that Lynch meant this picture to become "Real" later on. In an absolutely incredible audition scene in which Naomi Watts ironically out-acts her performances in nearly every other scene, the casting director asks her to, "Take it slow; don't be real until, it becomes real." These are strange directions to the young actress, but may be seen evidence that the first part of this film is a dream sequence.

Other evidence that much of the film is a dream includes the Winkie's waitress name tag, Coco's reactions to Naomi Watts, etc. However, if indeed Lynch intended to produce "dream scenes" poorly as an artistic choice ... then he did a rather uneven job of it. Additionally, putting out a product that is only two-thirds well-crafted represents a pretty gutsy risk. Intentional or not, I for one, did not enjoy a good portion of this film and despite very interesting, compelling moments and later full juicy sequences; I can't forget the time I wasted watching the drudge.

Terribly inconsistently crafted, yet fascinating in its inexplicability, "Mulholland" might just make a fine rental for those that love to be befuddled by odd films.