Mulholland Drive is probably my favourite film of all-time, it is deep and complex with an incredible performance from Naomi Watts amongst others. David Lynch's films are superbly put together where every scene is possibly a clue or hint towards what is actually happening. It was snubbed at Academy Awards in 2002 where Chicago took home the Best Picture award.
It is generally accepted that the first 2 hours of the film are all a dream within Diane's imagination where she is Betty the eager and naive wannabe actress who gets the girl she wants Camilla (Rita in the dream sequence). The latter part shows what has actually happened and why the events in the dream happen.
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| Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) and Rita (Laura Elena Harring) |
1. Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film; at least two clues are revealed before the credits.
2. Notice appearances of the red lampshade.
3. Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
4. An accident is a terrible event...notice the location of the accident.
5. Who gives a key, and why?
6. Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
7. What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?
8. Did talent alone help Camilla?
9. Note the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkles.
10. Where is Aunt Ruth?
2. Notice appearances of the red lampshade.
3. Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
4. An accident is a terrible event...notice the location of the accident.
5. Who gives a key, and why?
6. Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
7. What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?
8. Did talent alone help Camilla?
9. Note the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkles.
10. Where is Aunt Ruth?
Now here is my thoughts on why these questions are relevant and what they mean within the film.
1. Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film; at least two clues are revealed before the credits.
We see what looks like a Gap commercial as people perform 50s style dances for what seems to be no reason but we later learn that Betty/Diane won a Jitterbug contest before she moved to LA to become an actress. The bigger clue is the scene showing somebody writhing under a duvet briefly, this is Diane imagining the jitterbug contest she won and starting the dream sequence before she finally commits suicide.
We see what looks like a Gap commercial as people perform 50s style dances for what seems to be no reason but we later learn that Betty/Diane won a Jitterbug contest before she moved to LA to become an actress. The bigger clue is the scene showing somebody writhing under a duvet briefly, this is Diane imagining the jitterbug contest she won and starting the dream sequence before she finally commits suicide.
2. Notice appearances of the red lampshade.
This one puzzled me a lot more as the red lampshades don't seem to have any massive significance that I can see.
3. Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
The film is 'The Sylvia North Story' which is a link between Sylvia and Diane Selwyn as both are similar to 'Sylvan' meaning forest in Latin and maybe Betty Elms.
4. An accident is a terrible event...notice the location of the accident.
The accident happens on Mulholland Drive which is a famous mountain road in Hollywood, this being an easy clue that the road to fame in Hollywood is long and arduous with danger around every corner. But in the second case its Diane who is in the car and says the phrase "What are you doing? We don't stop here!" which is said at the start of the movie in the dream phase by Rita.
5. Who gives a key, and why?
The thing to note is that many keys are given but not all of them are actually received. The hitman that Diane hires to kill Camilla LEAVES a key for her but it is not given. The key that is actually given is to Betty by Aunt Ruth which is the key to the apartment (linked to clue #10), your focus is shifted onto the blue keys but none are actually given. They are either left or found by Diane and Rita but never actually given to them.
6. Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
These three items link the dream sequence to the real events at the end of the movie, all are used in the apartment that Betty and Rita use in the first part of the movie and are then seen in the second half with Diane and Camilla.
7. What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?
Just before we end the dream sequence we go to Club Silencio where nothing you see or hear is to believed. It was sneakily trying to tell you that everything you have seen so far is not real before we go through the box into reality. The feelings gathered from the club are of unreturned love that leads to loss and sorrow.
8. Did talent alone help Camilla?
In the dream sequence, Camilla gets the part because the Castigliane brothers forced the director to choose her. This is Diane rationalizing why she didn't get the part, believing that she did everything right to get the part after she blew everyone away in auditions so there must have been external forces at work stopping her from getting the part.
In reality, Camilla seemed willing to sleep with the director which is what Diane realises at the party when they announce their engagement. The other theory is that the money Diane gives to the hitman is actually used to influence the casting in the film so as to pick Camilla rather than for someone to kill her.
9. Note the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkles.
The monster or dirty homeless man behind Winkles is the ugly side of Hollywood and once Diane realises that Hollywood isn't the perfect place she imagines in her dream, the homeless man unleashes the elderly couple who ''attack'' Diane forcing her to kill herself. This is her conscious not being able to deal with the fact her dream is over, resulting in her suicide.
10. Where is Aunt Ruth?
We are told early on that Aunt Ruth is in Canada filming a movie, this is clearly a reference to her being dead as noted in clue #5. An old showbiz joke is that acting in Canada is being dead. The clue being the sombre black hat left on the nightstand when Rita is getting undressed, is it a funeral hat?
I hope this helps in someway explaining or even confusing the film even more.
This one puzzled me a lot more as the red lampshades don't seem to have any massive significance that I can see.
3. Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
The film is 'The Sylvia North Story' which is a link between Sylvia and Diane Selwyn as both are similar to 'Sylvan' meaning forest in Latin and maybe Betty Elms.
4. An accident is a terrible event...notice the location of the accident.
The accident happens on Mulholland Drive which is a famous mountain road in Hollywood, this being an easy clue that the road to fame in Hollywood is long and arduous with danger around every corner. But in the second case its Diane who is in the car and says the phrase "What are you doing? We don't stop here!" which is said at the start of the movie in the dream phase by Rita.
5. Who gives a key, and why?
The thing to note is that many keys are given but not all of them are actually received. The hitman that Diane hires to kill Camilla LEAVES a key for her but it is not given. The key that is actually given is to Betty by Aunt Ruth which is the key to the apartment (linked to clue #10), your focus is shifted onto the blue keys but none are actually given. They are either left or found by Diane and Rita but never actually given to them.
6. Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
These three items link the dream sequence to the real events at the end of the movie, all are used in the apartment that Betty and Rita use in the first part of the movie and are then seen in the second half with Diane and Camilla.
7. What is felt, realized and gathered at the club Silencio?
Just before we end the dream sequence we go to Club Silencio where nothing you see or hear is to believed. It was sneakily trying to tell you that everything you have seen so far is not real before we go through the box into reality. The feelings gathered from the club are of unreturned love that leads to loss and sorrow.
8. Did talent alone help Camilla?
In the dream sequence, Camilla gets the part because the Castigliane brothers forced the director to choose her. This is Diane rationalizing why she didn't get the part, believing that she did everything right to get the part after she blew everyone away in auditions so there must have been external forces at work stopping her from getting the part.
In reality, Camilla seemed willing to sleep with the director which is what Diane realises at the party when they announce their engagement. The other theory is that the money Diane gives to the hitman is actually used to influence the casting in the film so as to pick Camilla rather than for someone to kill her.
9. Note the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkles.
The monster or dirty homeless man behind Winkles is the ugly side of Hollywood and once Diane realises that Hollywood isn't the perfect place she imagines in her dream, the homeless man unleashes the elderly couple who ''attack'' Diane forcing her to kill herself. This is her conscious not being able to deal with the fact her dream is over, resulting in her suicide.
10. Where is Aunt Ruth?
We are told early on that Aunt Ruth is in Canada filming a movie, this is clearly a reference to her being dead as noted in clue #5. An old showbiz joke is that acting in Canada is being dead. The clue being the sombre black hat left on the nightstand when Rita is getting undressed, is it a funeral hat?
I hope this helps in someway explaining or even confusing the film even more.
I must say thank you for posting this, unfortunately for myself I am still rather confused
ReplyDeleteThe red lamp does have significance. If you look at the base of the lamp, it's a tree trunk. It's representing the many myths of the Axis Mundi or world tree. The top of the 'tree' or lamp where the shade is would be the upper world or heaven of the Axis Mundi. It's also a symbol of illumination (the light bulb).
ReplyDeleteThe lamp is positioned next to a telephone, a symbol of communication. Communication with what or whom? 'Betty' talks with Aunt Ruth in the first part of the film, if Aunt Ruth is dead, then how can Betty communicate with her unless she is also dead at this stage?
Thank you, useful
DeleteBrilliant explanation.
ReplyDelete