I really don't care for clever twists and stories I have to figure out by reading clues and explanations online somewhere.

In fairness to Lynch, the twists aren't there just to give you a gotcha moment, but are completely justified by the narrative.

The story achieves a fair amount of emotional heft when you realize what's happening and it's not a place you can get to narratively if it was told in a straightforward fashion.

Salon's Mullholland Drive analysis

Can someone who liked Mulholland Drive sell it to me?

I liked it. I thought it was the closest movie equivalent I've seen to watching a dream. Other than that, I am at a loss to explain it further.

Thanks for the link, Hec. It doesn't help me like it, because I don't think that movies should be that much work (and the article seems to imply that it's even more work than I found it--is it really supposed to be hard to tell it's Naomi throughout?). It mentions Memento as being similarly arduous, but instead I found Memento rewarding once you click with it, which is eminently possible while you're still in the theatre.

Now to poke through the letters in response to the analysis.

I loved Mulholland Drive - even the first time i saw it and had no idea what I had just seen. Lynch stuff is always so creepy and intense. And this one had hot lesbians, too! I was meh on Memento.

It doesn't help me like it, because I don't think that movies should be that much work

I granted it some leeway because Lynch had to rescue what had originally been a TV pilot and some episodes and make a movie out of it. I think this is more successful than the similar re-edit of the Twin Peaks pilot into its european movie version.

I have to admit that part of me did think "Well, what if you don't care about hot lesbians--what's in the movie for you then?"

It was creepy at times, but still I didn't feel anyone one worth rooting for, and not satisfying to root against.

Oh! Something I don't see in the article or discussion so far--what was up with the two guys in Twinkies--one of whom faints later. She only seems to see the fainter in her RL.

I hated MD. Thought it was pretentious and self-indulgent, even if it does have some achingly powerful moments.

I ultimately loved it, but I had to watch it more than once to come around.

I love David Lynch, and especially Twin Peaks, but I have fallen asleep every time I have tried to watch Mulholland Dr.

I thought it was the closest movie equivalent I've seen to watching a dream.

This pretty much sums up my love of Lynch from Eraserhead onward. I'm not sure if it's art, but it is a THING, at least to me.

Granted, I know Hec generally likes Lynch, but hates Lost Highway, which I don't get, as it was another total dream experience.

Inland Empire was a hard row to hoe, but it was also one of the shortest feeling three plus hour movies to me. Plus, the end credits sequence was the most joyous thing David Lynch has ever done, IMO, so it was worth the effort/confusion.

ETA, the thing I love about Lynch's dreaminess is not that it's like watching extended dream sequences, but it's like actually dreaming the movie - as in, this is YOUR dream, even if it has zero relation to anything in your life.

However, he can just tell a good story too, as The Elephant Man and The Straight Story testify to, I think.