15 Insane Movies That Shouldn't Have Worked

14. Mulholland Drive (2001)

Mulholland Drive
Universal

Widely touted as David Lynch's cinematic magnum opus, Mulholland Drive is a surrealist drama about a woman (Laura Harring) suffering from amnesia following a car crash, and the ingenue actress (Naomi Watts) she teams up with to figure out her identity.

The film is so much more than that synopsis, though: a gorgeous, transfixing celebration of anti-narrative, where Lynch deftly threads seemingly unrelated plots through the core story, before completely flipping the script with a stunning rug-pull of a third act.

Originally envisioned as a TV pilot, it's easy to see why executives passed on something so aggressively against the grain, but TV's loss was cinema's gain. Though finding concrete meaning in Lynch's lunatic odyssey isn't always easy, the depth of feeling and stunning performances make it a ride well worth taking.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.