Mary Sweeney is an American director, writer, film editor and film producer. She was briefly married to American film director David Lynch, with whom she collaborated for 20 years. Sweeney worked with Lynch on several films and television series, most notably the original Twin Peaks series (1990), Lost Highway (1997), The Straight Story (1999), and Mulholland Drive (2001). Sweeney is the Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor in the Writing Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She was formerly the chair of the Film Independent board of directors. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mary Sweeney, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1953 (73)
- Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Editor, producer and writer
- 10 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
What are Mary Sweeney's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 5
Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 4
Grounded 1 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 5
Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 4
A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 4
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 4
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 5
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous3
- Other1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Mary Sweeney's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Mary Sweeney's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Romanoffs(2018)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows
Take A Hike (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Baraboo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Inland Empire(2006)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
In the Eye Abides the Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Mulholland Drive(2001)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Straight Story(1999)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Lost Highway(1997)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Nadja(1994)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Hotel Room (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
On the Air (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Wild at Heart(1990)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Blue Velvet(1986)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Merton: A Film Biography (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Tender Mercies(1983)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 16 titles from 1983 to 2018.
Biggest box office
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Highest rated
The Straight Story (1999)
Most popular right now
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Mary Sweeney's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 91st percentile, the median of all 9; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 93rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 10 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the pacing 36/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 47, detractors 16. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Mary Sweeney's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Mary Sweeney work with?
People who share at least 2 of Mary Sweeney's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; David Lynch shares the most, 6.
Directors
- David LynchShared titles: Inland Empire (2006), Mulholland Drive (2001), The Straight Story (1999), Lost Highway (1997), Nadja (1994), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)See all 6 shared titles with David Lynch
Actors
- Justin TherouxShared titles: Inland Empire (2006), Mulholland Drive (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Justin Theroux
Composers and cinematographers
- Angelo BadalamentiShared titles: Mulholland Drive (2001), The Straight Story (1999), Lost Highway (1997), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)See all 4 shared titles with Angelo Badalamenti
- Peter DemingShared titles: Mulholland Drive (2001), Lost Highway (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Deming
Producers
- John WentworthShared titles: Mulholland Drive (2001), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)See all 2 shared titles with John Wentworth
- Michael PolaireShared titles: Mulholland Drive (2001), The Straight Story (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Polaire
- Neal EdelsteinShared titles: Mulholland Drive (2001), The Straight Story (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Neal Edelstein
- Pierre EdelmanShared titles: Mulholland Drive (2001), The Straight Story (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Pierre Edelman
