Ruminations On The Road Of Dreams: A Look At Mulholland Drive

It's been about a year since I first viewed David Lynch's Mulholland Drive for the very first time. It was the second of his films that I had seen, the first being his 1986 film, Blue Velvet. While I wasn't new to the idea of surrealism and bizarre creations (Being John Malkovich is still the most bizarre thing I have ever seen in my life), it was still fairly new to the mind of Lynch. While Lynch is a surrealist through and through, he also incorporates interesting aspects of American culture. Our concerning obsession with celebrities and fame, the feelings of small town community, and the idea that everything has a dark side are his most common themes. One could even call them lens to look at the world through. However, I believe Lynch's greatest skill is to grab a hold of the emotion of his audiences and never let go. That is where I believe this movie goes. Mulholland Drive is well known as a film that does not really make sense on a first viewing, maybe not even making sense on repeat ones either. After having seen the movie about five times and calling it one of my top ten favorites, I just wanted to share some thoughts on why I love the movie and why I think it is so compelling. Many a post have been written trying to piece together the plot with the assistance of ten clues that Lynch provided with the DVD. That doesn't interest me particularly, because I feel like the movie is best left a mystery to be solved for the viewer themselves. A definitive explanation of the timeline of events would just take the mood away from the movie and turn it into something very run of the mill with surreal elements. I don't believe that was Lynch's idea when he completed this movie. The film openly invites various interpretations, finally letting the modern audience think for itself.

At the heart of it all, this is a movie about emotions. Emotions of the characters, emotions of the audience, and the emotions that those two parties can share together during the experience. A wide range of these are felt during the film, including happiness, anger, fear, disappointment, and, perhaps most prevalent, sadness. This is a truly sad film, as it deals (supposedly) with the failings of a hopeful, young woman who has found love in the city of dreams. Naomi Watts, in one of the greatest performances of all time (not kidding), expertly helps the audience to empathize with her character(s). This allows us to really participate in Lynch's movie, whose images he has crafted specifically based on ideas aroused by emotions. Even the tagline of the film, "A Love Story In The City Of Dreams," specifically mentions the most powerful emotion of all. There are a few notable instances where Lynch extracts specific emotions from the characters, whom the audience empathize with. The first of these is when we see the man behind Winkie's Diner. The scene is set up with two men, Dan and Herb, talking in the diner, where Dan describes his nightmare to Herb. In the nightmare, there is a horrible man behind the diner who is the source of immense fear and doubt. In order to rid himself of the fear, Dan  convinces his friend to go behind the diner and check, just to be certain that the horrible man isn't real. As soon as we come upon the corner, the man reveals himself, and Dan apparently dies on the spot from a fear induced heart attack.

The first part of the scene is here, coupled with the second part of the scene
Watch closely. Lynch sets up this scene to get the ultimate emotional response out of his audience. In the first part, the camera never stops moving, but its movements are very subtle, creating an unnerving tension in the viewer. Why is the camera acting so oddly? One could even assume that the camera movement indicates that we are, at this moment in the film, occupying a dream itself. Another aspect that helps build to the response is Dan's description of the dream. While we obviously can't see it, his description is so vague, yet delivered with so much nervousness that we know the horrible man must a force to be reckoned with. During this scene, we really empathize with Herb, the person hearing this crazy dream and not really knowing how to respond to it. In a way, we also agree to go with Dan behind the alley to show him that there is nothing to be afraid of. All of this leads into the actual revelation, which is, admittedly, quite a frightening moment. The man's appearance is quite horrific, which, to me at least, calls into question whether we are in a dream or not. Lynch uses this scene to set up one of the emotional tentpoles of the movie, which is fear itself. This is a fear that is lurking, ominous, and lingering. We can't quite get the image of the man out of our heads for the rest of the movie, pondering just how he plays into the story of Betty and Rita, the two main characters.

Another important scene of the movie that sets up one of the emotional tentpoles is where Betty and Rita travel to Club Silencio, hoping to find answers to some of the questions they have about Rita's identity. In this club, a woman comes out onto the stage and begins singing a rendition of the song "Crying" by Roy Orbison. Her delivery is so pure and beautiful that Rita and Betty both begin breaking down, nestling their heads together. This scene illustrates two things. First, and most importantly, it illustrates the love that Rita and Betty have for each other, despite the adversity that they have face in the movie up until this point. This includes the night that they slept together, which is the ultimate sign of affection, in this film anyways. The second aspect illustrated here is just how sad the current situation of the girls is. At this point in the movie, the singer collapses while the song continues, showing that she was miming the whole time. Even earlier in the scene, a man on stage continually yelled about how it was "all an illusion." This scene is usually cited as being evidence that Betty, Naomi Watts' character, has created a fantasy dream world where she gets all that she wants. We as viewers have taken this journey with her, the same one that she met the amnesiac Rita on. We have watched the two grow closer and closer, seen them really develop a loving relationship. At this point in the movie, Betty realizes that it is all a dream and she can't be with Rita, despite the love they once shared. This is all interpretation, of course, but that one makes the most logical sense. I can't imagine anything being as heartbreaking as realizing that you have lost the one you cared for the most, the one that you would absolutely die for. That is what I believe Lynch was trying to create with this scene, that sense of the ultimate loss of love and just how sad and painful that can be.

At the conclusion of the above scene, the movie shifts its narrative to something completely different. Rita pulls out a blue box from her purse, along with a key to the box. Unlocking it, the camera zooms into it, revealing a new world to us. The acting changes, some of the characters have different names, the music becomes more alternative and guitar driven as opposed to the typical orchestral pieces heard in the first half, and the camera focuses more intensely on the faces of the characters. It is difficult to discuss/describe this shift in the form of the film, as it plays in stark contrast to how the movie felt and appeared in the first half. It is within this last piece of the movie where Lynch presents us with a final reminder of fear, realized fully within the mind of our main character. It is assumed that Betty, now being called Diane, is a failed actress that fell in love with Rita, now being called Camilla, who made it big time. Due to their separation, Diane fell into a deep depression (possibly even drugs), and hired a hit man to murder her former lover out of jealousy. The final scene of this film brings back the horrible man from behind the diner and an elderly couple that had met Betty/Diane when she initially arrived in Los Angeles. Using these characters again, Lynch creates perhaps the most frightening scene in the movie.

Diane is sitting at home, knowing that her former lover has been murdered by her order. There comes an intense knocking at the door, presumably detectives. Lightning is flashing and thunder is booming. The camera cuts to the man behind the diner, sitting ominously over a fire. He is revealed to be a simple hobo who lives behind the diner. He is fondling the blue box from earlier, the same one that transported the audience into the new world. Upon putting the box down, microscopic versions of the elderly couple almost float out of the box, surreally moving towards the screen. We cut back to Diane, who has a look of pure horror on her face. The elderly couple, still microscopic, crawls into her home beneath her door as the thunder grows even louder, along with the banging. Diane jumps up from the couch to find the couple chasing her down a hallway, laughing hysterically while she shrieks uncontrollably. This scene is one of pure horror and fear. I honestly can't remember a time when I have been so afraid in a movie. I believe that the scene is so frightening because of how Lynch uses common elements to change normal ideas into frightening ones. We know that an elderly couple is hardly scary, especially if they're your grandparents or parents. By having them laugh manically and move malevolently, he turns them into forces of horror, chasing Diane down the hall. The scene also uses the crack of the thunder and the constant flashing of blue lightning to create a sense of urgency and tension. Will the noises stop if Diane makes it to her room? Will her nightmare be all over? I also believe that the scene works so well because we have empathized with Betty/Diane for almost the whole film. Seeing her shriek uncontrollably and in a state of such absolute fear, we are afraid along with her. There are many metaphorical meanings to this scene, but it interested me more to dissect just why it was so frightening. With this final scene, Lynch finishes up his last trick in the film, showing that Diane's world was built on a lurking fear of something.

These scenes interested me mostly because of how they are able to wring emotions out of the viewer. All three illustrate just how Lynch built his movie around the very idea of emotions and how they can affect the viewing experience. Are they the sole reason why I adore this film? Of course not. The film is a beautiful neo-noir, shot very much like the noir films of the 1940s. It even includes story elements of those movies as well, such as a mysterious woman with no identity, a purse full of money and a blue box, and the film industry. All of that aside, the movie is just so different. We are so desensitized to explosions, simple stories, generic plots, and quick cuts that I am kind of bored of modern movies. Mulholland Drive changes all of these up and constructs an absolute enigma of a movie. Each image is a puzzle piece that may or may not fit together with another one. This lack of logical plot progression, I believe, was Lynch's way of utilizing his images to invest the viewer, based on how they feel about what they are seeing. Who was Rita? Why does the movie shift in the middle? Where does the money come from? Who was the hit man? None of this really matters in the end. What matters is that we, as viewers, responded to the emotions of the characters and empathized with their plight. On another level, the viewers experience unique emotions, such as when the movie shifts and we begin trying to work out the chain of events for ourselves. There is an aura of mystery and intrigue that envelopes this film, one that I find absolutely fascinating. This is a movie I highly recommend because it is just so different. I can't get it out of my head, and it will end up becoming one of my primary influences in whatever I end up creating on the road ahead. It is currently airing on HBO as well as streaming on HBO GO/HBO NOW and it is really a movie that deserves to be seen. I am eagerly awaiting a Blu-ray release of the film, which has been hinted at by The Criterion Collection. In the meantime, I will continue to drive down the road of dreams, pondering just what happened to Betty and Rita. Was their plight a warning against the dangers of love or against the dangers of Hollywood? One may never know. Don't ask Lynch, as he respects the audience enough to let them figure out their own interpretation. All that matters to him, presumably, is how you felt while viewing the images that came alive in his mind. So grab a drink, turn your phone off, and just let go of logic. Really immerse yourself in the movie and I believe that you will find one of the most unique viewing experiences that cinema has to offer. I hope you enjoy my discussion of the film and I hope you can find the time to watch it and hopefully enjoy it as much as I continue to do. Take care and thanks for reading!