Mulholland Drive - 01/23/02

Ok, now, onto the review.

I have loved David Lynch's movies, ever since Blue Velvet. I've seen all of his films, and enjoy each of them, love them all... but Blue Velvet was the first of his films I was introduced to. Just as I'd reached senior year in high school, my friend Alex sat me down and we watched a series of movies by David Lynch, Scorsese, The Coen Brothers... lots of stuff I'd never seen or heard of before. I know, I was a sheltered child, living on Long Island. Forgive me.

Ever since Lost Highway in 1997, viewers can now separate Lynch's movies into two categories. One is the straight forward, linear narrative piece. Those include The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks and The Straight Story. You can even include Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Even though that was taking the universe of Twin Peaks as far as it could possibly go, it was still straight forward enough for a linear interpretation.

These stories have twists and turns, characters and scenarios that are not all together important towards the plot, but that add atmosphere. There are trademarks of his in every single one of the films... you get those with every director... and sometimes they come off as weird, for the sake of being weird... and sometimes these same things come off as straight forward to other viewers. But I don't think viewers can deny the fact that these films have a cohesive beginning, middle and ending.

After Lost Highway, things changed.

Over the past two or three years, I believe that there have been a number of subtle taste changes in the movie going community. Sure, maybe longer than two or three years... but people have just begun to really express their opinions. Movie houses are charging way too much for a night out... films are going straight to video, with big name stars attached... and, like everything else, there are opportunities to capitalize on a changing outlook, or trend.

One perfect example, for me, is Memento, released just this past year. Films such as this are, in my opinion, directed towards people who are bored with Hollywood. Those same people, well, a great deal of them went to see this movie, and it received some rave reviews. It was new, it was risky... I personally think it was a gimmick. A gimmick done well, but one none-the-less.

Directors are trying to play with the films, to give them an edge of originality, to bring audiences back into the realm of the unknown, or the unforeseen. One of my biggest problems with films today is that the plots are dumbed down for larger audiences. Sure, people go to movies so they don't have to think... but not all the time. Memento, with its first viewing, gave the audience something to look forward to. A strict conclusion, information they needed to grasp before they could understand the whole story. And as a story, the film is successful. But, after a second viewing, I was very antsy, and was looking forward to finishing it, or turning it off. I ended up turning it off.

Again, after Lost Highway, for Lynch, things changed. His second category of film can be described in a number of different ways. One way, for people who feel gipped, would be the "He doesn't care what people think" feeling. I don't believe that. I think he cares very much, but he's more interested in keeping his viewer on their toes, and making them pay attention, than he is in just dishing it out for them, complete, whole and uncut.

Lost Highway was a linear narration, but dealt with a type of character that did not hold true to the forms of nature, or time. I got from Lost Highway that the main character was a doppleganger, which is a creature that has the ability to change shape. In regards to this, linear narration holds, but is not true to form because we're watching the lives of two people, simultaneously... and Lynch and Barry Gifford kept the viewers on shakier ground than they were originally used to. It took me a few viewings to grasp some of the basic content, and to draw my own conclusions in the film... and I liked it that way.

The situation with Mulholland Drive is that you don't know what the truth is. And it's not a problem, it's another way for the viewer to chose their own interpretation of the film.

The first images we see are of couples swing dancing. Interrupting this are blurry images of a star struck woman, and an old couple. These images blur in and out, and we find ourselves looking from the POV of someone who's just woken up from sleep. To say that person was dreaming would be to assume... but it might be a good assumption. The sheets are red, as is the pillow case.

We start off the movie with a very straight forward story. A woman, Laura Harring, gets into an accident and has amnesia. She finds a place to stay, in a house where someone is leaving on a trip.

Now, the first thing that happens, shoving the viewer off his/her feet, is the diner scene, in Winkie's.

Herb, played by Michael Cooke, and Dan, played by Patrick Fischler, have one of the most disturbing scenes in the whole movie. The first time I saw the film, I thought it was kind of forced, the acting. The second time around, knowing what they were going to go through, I thought it was just perfect.

We're introduced to the idea of dreams at this point. We know Rita was in a car accident. We now listen to Dan re-tell his dream for his friend. A disturbing dream, where he's scared, his friend is scared, and there is a man with a gruesome face behind the restaurant.

I won't give away too much, but the results are tremendous for Dan and his friend Herb. We are introduced to the scary man behind the diner and are no longer sure what we are watching. Whether it is a dream, or if it's real, in the fictional sense, anyway.

We are then introduced to Betty, played by Naomi Watts, who is being escorted from an airport with an elderly couple, Irene and Irene's Companion (as listed in the credits). Irene and her guy are the same older couple we saw in the blurry images, set in the beginning. They are always smiling, and we see them traveling by limo, someplace. To me, there was something almost God like about them.

What follows is the introduction of 'Rita' and Betty, and their quest for their truth. They meet when Betty enters her Aunt's home, to find Rita in the shower. There is some talk, some confusion as to how she got there, and Rita finding out she doesn't know her name, or what she was doing... but she remembers the car accident.

We find Rita has a purse full of money and a mysterious blue key.

Now we meet Mr. Roque, played by Michael J. Anderson (who was the Man from Another Place in the Twin Peaks series). Mr. Roque has been making inquiries into the disappearance of 'Rita'. A few phone calls are made, but all we see are the telephones, not the receivers of the calls. One of the calls goes to a black phone on a desk, but no one answers.

We come back to the diner scene, where Rita and Betty are trying to find out some information on the accident, and we are introduced to Diane, the waitress at Winkie's, played by Missy Crider.

Here's where things get strange, for real.

Rita remembers someone named Diane Selwyn. She remembers this because the waitresses name is Diane. The waitress looks almost like Betty. This is important, later on.

So, Rita and Betty look up Diane Selwyn in the phone book and call her. But it doesn't sound like Rita, so it's not Rita. So, they decide to go to Diane's apartment, to get some clues.

Now, during this time, we're introduced to another character, Adam Kesher, played very well by Justin Theroux. Adam is a director, and is in the process of casting his new film. 5 or 6 of the top actresses are in line for the lead role, and when we meet him, he is in discussions with his agent and whom I suppose are the producers or heads of the distribution company.

They are talking about the lead character in the film and are trying to talk to Adam, for him to have an open mind. He has no idea what they are talking about.

At this point, the Castigliane Brothers are introduced, played wonderfully by Dan Hedaya and Angelo Badalamenti (who has scored most of Lynch's films). These two brothers are the spokesmen for Mr. Roque, who is listening in on the negotiations.

This is all very worldly, what is going on. The feeling is that the agent and producers are not only scared of the Castigliane brothers, but they also know who's behind them. And when they talk, people listen.

They are very hard to please, especially in the espresso department, and they come bearing the headshot of a girl named Camilla Rhodes, played by Melissa George. "This is the girl," they tell Adam, who has no idea what the hell is going on.

There's not much more to decipher from this scene, other than that we are meeting the people who are truly behind the scenes of Hollywood. The force that moves things around, occasionally just slightly, but in cases like this... they are making a major decision, and Adam is being forced into it.

Adam, pissed off, refuses to cast her, saying it's his movie. Dan Hedaya delivers a great line at the end of this, with perfect force. "It is no longer your film."

One of the producers is introduced to Mr. Roque and is told to shut everything down.

From here on, things go downhill for Adam.

For one, his staff has been fired. Two, his wife is cheating on him. Three, he's broke.

Back to Rita and Betty for a minute.

The two women go to Diane Selwyn's apartment complex. They meet a girl in room 12 who says she switched apartments with Diane, and that she hasn't been around for a while. So, the two women go to Diane's new apartment, sneak in and find her dead, with a needle on the bed, her face sunken in beyond recognition. She has long black hair, just like Rita's.

Reading the screenplay, what has happened to this woman is that she's killed by numerous shotgun blasts. But, in the film, there is a needle by her. This Diane also has red sheets on her bed... the same sheets from the beginning of the film.

Rita, seeing the black hair, not understanding who she is, gets nervous. Is that her? Is she dead? Very strange thoughts come through to the viewer. Diane Selwyn is dead, and we never got to meet her. Or did we?

Rita cuts her hair off, scared after seeing the dead body with the black hair. Betty helps her and, with the help of a wig, Rita becomes a blonde, almost identical to Betty. Soon enough, the two are in bed together, and Betty professes her love to Rita, and they make love together.

At this stage, in her sleep, Rita begins to remember something else. She begins to recite Spanish, saying "Silencio," and slightly singing. After waking Betty up, the two go to a club where there is a magician describing the show to the audience. There is no band, it is only a tape recording. A trumpet player comes out, falsely playing notes. A woman, looking drugged up and wavering, sings an incredibly beautiful song in Spanish, which brings both women to tears. The singer then falls to the ground, while the singing continues. It's all still on tape. Nothing is real.

Adam meets the Cowboy. The Cowboy character (though not always a Cowboy) is rampant in all of Lynch's films. This character type has been dropped on Earth for one purpose. To expose us to the truth, no matter how vague they are, it's always going to end up being the truth. This is the same with another character we meet, Louise, who tells Betty early on that there is trouble in her house and 'That's not her name', meaning Rita. They are harbinger characters, people who know the truth about things that don't concern them, or they are the things that keep things moving.

In the screenplay, somehow, the Cowboy knows everything about Adam and what he's going through. In the movie he does as well, but there is more atmosphere in the movie, and an infinite sense to the Cowboy. He's pale, dressed like a Cowboy, and it's obvious that he too works for the network that Mr. Roque has set up.

With certain information exchanging hands, The Cowboy lets Adam know that things will go back to normal once he chooses 'the girl' (Camilla) for the role in the movie. Which, later on, he does.

Things in Mr. Roque's universe, with his band of characters, including the Cowboy and the Castigliane Brothers, are going right on track, except for the missing woman, 'Rita'.

Back to Betty and Rita, who are in the club, listening to the music. Betty finds, in her purse, a Blue Box. One that might fit the Blue Key, it seems.

The women get back to the house, and the first thing they go for is the key. Rita goes for the key, turns around and Betty is gone. Completely gone. Nowhere to be found. Betty, going on instinct, puts the key in the box, opens it and we zoom into the box, into blackness. The box hits the ground, and we find Betty's Aunt, in the apartment, looking to see what made a sound in her bedroom. The Box is gone, and she shrugs off the noise.

Now, two things happen here. One, The Cowboy goes to Diane Selwyn's apartment and tells her it's time to get up. Two, we're forced into a different reality, or the waking life of someone.

Knocking at a door wakes up Diane Selwyn, who is Betty (Naomi Watts), who is sleeping on red sheets. She comes to the door after a moment of trying to get her head together, to find the woman from room 12 coming to collect her things, including an ashtray, which she takes. We see, on the coffee table, a blue key, this time just a plain key that is metallic blue, sitting on her coffee table.

The room 12 girl leaves, Diane goes to make some coffee and turns to see that Camilla who is/was Rita (Laura Harring) is standing there, in a red dress. Diane says "Camilla, you came back!" and begins crying. She's still crying when we jump cut to her pouring coffee and moving over to her couch, where Camilla is there, naked. Diane climbs over the couch, and the apartment is full of furnishings. We also see the ashtray that the Room 12 lady took, laying on the coffee table. We get the sense that we've traveled back in time.

Camilla and Diane begin to make out, when Camilla calls the whole thing off, really upsetting Diane. Diane wants to know if it's 'him'.

We cut to a film shoot, where Adam is directing Camilla in a scene in a car. Adam is showing the lead actor how to do the scene, which involves kissing Camilla. Diane is there, watching and getting jealous. Adam ends up kissing Diane, and it's all very passionate, and Diane is disturbed by this.

Back to the apartment, Diane throws Camilla out of the apartment, very upset. Following this, Diane finds herself crying hysterically, but masturbating to the memory of Camilla. She's almost beating herself up, physically, when all of a sudden, the phone rings. We close up on the phone to find out it is the exact phone we saw in the beginning of the movie, the one no one answered.

Diane answers and finds out that there is a car waiting for her, from Camilla, to take her to a party. Diane reluctantly agrees and takes the car, which drives down the same road where Rita had her accident. Mulholland Drive.

Camilla guides Diane up to the house, up a secret path, where we find out that Camilla is with Adam. There is a party going on. Lots of people are there, including the original Camilla who is no longer Camilla, but is now Blond Girl.

Adam and Camilla (Rita) are very close, and kissing... The Cowboy makes an appearance for only a moment, and walks off screen. Luigi Castigliane is at the party and he notices Diane. Blond Girl (who was originally Camilla) goes over to Camilla (Rita) and whispers something to her, pointing out Diane. The two kiss and Blond walks off.

We find that Diane is an actress who's been trying to get work, and who has been given bit parts by her friend Camilla, who is very successful. Diane is not too thrilled about this and is talking with Coco, who is Adam's mom. Coco is also the manager of the apartments that Betty was using. She is a constant in both realities. Diane is telling Coco where she is from (Ontario) and why she wanted to get into acting (she won a jitterbug swing contest).

Suddenly, Adam and Camilla (Rita) have something to announce. But, they are so giddy and happy, they can't get it out. They are laughing, smiling, laughing some more and Diane gets so upset that she breaks a glass, and the noise wakes her up from her thoughts.

We end up at Winkie's again. This time we are with Joe the Hitman and Diane. Diane is talking to him about doing something for money. A contract killing, it seems. The waitress comes up to them. She is the same waitress that was there in the other reality, with Betty and Rita. Now she is Betty, not Diane.

Diane shows Joe a headshot of Camilla (Rita). Joe, asking if this is what she really wants (she says "More than anything"), takes the money from her and the headshot and shows her a blue metallic key (the one we saw in Diane's apartment, on her coffee table). Joe says "Once it's done, you'll find this where I told you." Diane asks what the key opens, and Joe just laughs at her.

It's night time and we travel behind Winkie's, to where Dan and Herb traveled at the beginning of the film. There is a bum there, and he is fooling around with a similar blue box that Betty found in her purse. Putting it in a paper bag, he drops it on the ground. Suddenly, two tiny figures come out of the bag. They are Irene and her companion. They are making a lot of noise, laughing and moving around at fast speeds.

Back to the apartment of Diane who is thinking about something. We see images that remind us of the images at the beginning of the film... a blond woman, blurry, with the two older folks around her... laughing turns into screams... and all of a sudden, Diane is on her feet, trying to run away from Irene and her companion. They are laughing and yelling at her, she's screaming trying to get away from them... and she finally makes it into her bedroom, pulls a gun out of her desk and kills herself. Smoke shoots out from all over, and the scene fades to black.

The end.

Now, there are a few things you can say about this. First off, yes, I did not tell the film in order. Order, at this stage is not important, so that's that.

One of the things I got from this film is that Mr. Roque and his group are able to change the direction of life, of time itself. When Adam chooses the original Camilla for the role of the film he's casting, things for him go from bad to incredible. In the new reality, Camilla (who is Rita) ends up being his girlfriend/lover and possible wife, though we never really find that out. So, Adam does right by the Group, things turn out ok for him.

So, I think that Adam is the main character of this film. His reality is pretty much a constant throughout both realities. Diane/Betty and Camilla/Rita change. But everyone else stays the same.

The Blue Box and the Bum reminded me a bit of Hellraiser... only in an off the cuff kind of way, but it was too similar none-the-less.

Dreams play heavily in this film, and it's hard to know who is actually dreaming this. We think it's Diane (originally Betty) because we come in towards the end and she's just woken up. And her life has similar elements of the original reality, except she has no Aunt that is alive.

I think the movie is a work of genius in some ways. People are going to feel cheated in a way, and I can understand that. Some people don't want to think about their interpretation of the movie. Others are going to think Lynch didn't really know what he was doing, and put together something weird for the sake of weird. Personally, I have no doubt that he knows exactly what he's doing.

This was my favorite movie of 2001. Very well done, well shot (again, thanks to Peter Deming, who shot Lost Highway, Hotel Room and On the Air for Lynch), well edited (by co-producer Mary Sweeney) and incredibly well acted by the entire cast.

I'm a sucker for Lynch movies, so I couldn't tell you if I thought it was better than his other films. I've enjoyed them all. Wild at Heart is my all time favorite movie... so I might be slightly biased in my opinions... though it's an opinion, so I guess they tend to become biased after a while... again. I would recommend this film to anyone who has the patience to sit through it, think about it, absorb what you're watching for later analysis.