Mulholland Drive Film Analysis

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nWhen it was released, Mulholland Dr. got awards all over thenplace! Lynch was nominated for best director that year at the Academy Awards,nhe won the Best Director Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Mulholland Dr. wasnnamed ‘Best Picture’ by the New York Film Critics Circle, amongst other awards.nThe film certainly got a reaction from audiences, more so than any other Lynchnfilm, there was something special about this movie and audiences and criticsnpicked up on it immediately. Now here’s the deal with Mulholland Dr, there are anmyriad of interpretations of the film out there, but I got my personal one andnseriously, it is solid! Air tight! So if you’ve never seen this movie, don’tnread this article because I’m going to go into a deep analysis of the film,nthis is my take on one of Lynch’s most mysterious and alluring films, it’s likena puzzle you have to put together little by little. I’ve seen the movie manyntimes and my take on it makes sense the more and more I watch it. What I’mngoing to do is actually deconstruct the film (which is told in a non-linearnfashion) and retell it linearly, while trying to explain what the film means tonme. Just remember, this is just my take on it, maybe you have your own take itnon it too, which of course I urge you to share on the comments section! if younhaven’t experienced Mulholland Dr. yet, what are you waiting for?

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nCHAPTER I

nCAMILLA AND DIANE; TWO ACTRESSES TRYING TO MAKE IT

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nThe whole story starts out with these two actresses waitingnfor their “big break” on a film project, their names are Camilla Rhodes andnDiane Selwyn. In order to make ends meet, Diane works at the local ‘WinkiesnDiner’. To complicate things just a little bit more, they are in anrelationship. Apparently, for Camilla the relationship is more sexual, whilenfor Diane, being with Camilla is an obsession.

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n CHAPTER 2

nCAMILLA BECOMES FAMOUS, DIANE WALKS IN HER SHADOW

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nOne thing leads to another and Camilla gets a big break on anfilm called The Sylvia North Story! Camilla actually gets a major role on thenfilm! Unfortunately, while Camilla get’s to be a star, Diane gets NOTHING!nFortunately, Camilla uses her fame to get Diane bit parts in some of her films.nFor example, Camilla landed a role in a film from a young director called AdamnKesher whom Camilla ends up falling in love with while rehearsing a kissingnscene. This romance that develops between Camilla and Adam Kesher obviouslynmakes Diane insanely jealous because Diane is obsessed with Camilla; we can seenthe jealousy in Diane’s eyes when Camilla and Adam rehearse the kissing scene.

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nAdam is trying to cast the right actress for a part in hisnfilm and he’s got a girl in mind, unfortunately, his producers don’t agree.nThey want another actress! This of course is this young director’s worstnnightmare! Now this meeting is the most uncomfortable meeting ever, everyone isnon the edge! The producer is portrayed as a man that’s so hard to please that nonone can get him an adequate cup of coffee! He tastes a cup of espresso theynbring him and he spits it out on a napkin! This of course is Lynch venting outnhis frustrations with movie producers and the business side of filmmaking.nProducers often times clash with a directors artistic vision, especially withndirectors like Lynch who value art over commerce. Many of Adam’s problems probablynmirror in one way or another Lynch’s own frustrations with the business side ofnfilmmaking; starting with the hard to please producers. Adam hates this meetingnbecause they are forcing him to choose an actress he doesn’t want, so he stormsnout of the meeting and vents out his frustrations by smashing the window of onenof the producers limos!
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nCHAPTER 4

nADAM FINDS HIS WIFE CHEATING ON HIM, GETS A CALL FROM ‘THEnCOWBOY’

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nAfter the meeting with the producers, Adam goes home only tonfind his wife in bed with the pool man. To avenge this, he takes all hernexpensive jewelry and smothers it with pink paint, she tries to stop him, so henstarts to fight with her at which point the pool man punches Adam in the facenand kicks him out of his own home, Adam takes the hint and leaves. He then goesnto stay at a cheap hotel in town, to hide away. Here he discovers that thenstudio has cut off his credit line and he is practically broke! He thennreceives a phone call to meet up with a character called “The Cowboy”. Just whonis this cowboy? And what does he want with Adam?

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n CHAPTER 5

n DIANE AND CAMILLAnBREAK UP 

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nEven though Camilla is romantically entangled with AdamnKesher, she still lives with Diane, and they still share intimacy. But Camilla wantsnto put an end to it, so one day, right in the middle of having sex with Diane,nCamilla tells Diane “we can’t keep doing this”, meaning, let’s break up. Dianendoesn’t like what she hears and replies “don’t say that, don’t ever say that”nwith an obsessive look on her face. Diane ends up kicking Camilla from theirnapartment. Camilla begs Diane not to make things harder than they are but Dianensays she’s not going to make it easy, because it’s not easy for her either.nObviously, Diane’s attraction towards Camilla was obsessive. How so? Well, oncenCamilla has moved out Diane crumbles, she looks a mess, she’s obviouslyndepressed. While walking through her apartment, she imagines that Camilla isntalking to her. She speaks to the wind saying things like “Camilla, you’renback!” but there’s no one there. She’s alone. Camilla’s attraction was physicalnand not romantic, while Diane’s was obsessive.

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nCHAPTER 6

nADAM MEETS THE COWBOY

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nSo Adam goes up to this corral up on a mountain to meet ThenCowboy. Now this is a really mysterious character in the film: he knowsneverything and seems to have everything under control. Now if you ask me, ThenCowboy is GOD, yup, not just symbolically, but literally. Why do I come to thisnconclusion? Well, according to the bible God knows everything, and this cowboynguy, well; he seems to know it all. He is one step ahead of Adam and the wholenmess going on with Diane and Camilla. There are more symbolisms that let us seenhe is god. Adam must go to the top of the mountain to meet him, kind of likenhow Moses had to go to the top of the mountain to meet God and get the TennCommandments, which is essentially what The Cowboy does with Adam, he gives himna commandment. When the Cowboy arrives, a light bulb on the corral mysteriouslynturns on, when he leaves, the light bulb mysteriously turns off, as if he’snpresence emitted some kind of mystical energy, a common motif in Lynch’s films.nThe Cowboy tells Adam that he is the one in charge; that he’s the one “drivingnthis buggy” and that Adam better do as he’s told. He tells Adam to choose thengirl that his producers have chosen for him. Why does The Cowboy want Adam tonchoose this new girl? More on that later!

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nCHAPTER 7

nCAMILLA AND ADAM GET BRUTALLY CRUEL WITH DIANE

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nSo Camilla and Diane have an ugly break up, but apparentlynthey are still in speaking terms because Camilla invites Diane to a dinnernparty at Adams home. On the dinner table, a conversation reveals to us just hownCamilla and Diane met and how Diane has been living on the shadow of Camilla’snsuccess. Diane also tells us a bit about how she won a Jitterbug Contest andnthat this is why she ended up trying to be an actress. We saw the JitterbugnContest way back at the beginning of the movie, when we see all those dancersndoing ‘The Jitterbug’ during the very first scenes of the film. While at thisndinner table, we hear Adam talking about his ex-wife; he says that the judgendecided that Adam would get the pool and that “she got the pool man”; whichnmeans they are now divorced and Adam got to keep the house. Things take a turnntowards the brutally cruel when we see the blonde actress who The Cowboy toldnAdam to choose for the film kissing Camilla right in front of Diane’s face!nThis move is particularly cruel on Camilla’s part when we consider that shenknows just how badly Diane took their break up. But the cruelty towards Diane doesnnot stop there. Right on this very dinner table Camilla and Adam announce thatnthey are going to get married!

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nCHAPTER 8

nDIANE DECIDES TO KILL CAMILLA

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nAfter the particularly cruel night, Diane can’t take thenloneliness and rejection. Being without Camilla proves to be just a bit toonmuch for her. How do we know? Well, Diane masturbates as she cries, butnmasturbating just isn’t the same as being with Camilla. So, when Diane justncan’t take it no more, she decides that she wants to kill Camilla, so she hiresna hit man to do the job. Diane meets the hit man at the Winkies where she worksnat. She gives him a picture of Camilla, so that he knows who he’s got to kill.nAfter she hands the hit man the money for the job, the hit man hands her a bluenkey. Now just what is this blue key she’s just received and why has shenreceived it? What does it open?

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nCHAPTER 9

n THE BLUE BOX, THEnBLUE KEY, DIANE COMMITS SUICIDE

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n Here’s where we gottanstop and explain just what the blue box and key are. This is an importantnquestion in this film because when the blue key is used and the blue box isnopened, people disappear!  They gonsomewhere; but where? Now If ‘The Cowboy’ is God, then there’s gotta be a Devilnin this movie, and that Devil is this ugly bum/monster in the alley behind thenWinkies, it is he who owns the Blue Box and Keys, so it is my belief that this bluenbox is essentially a door way to hell. In the film, you get a Blue Key onlynwhen you’ve done a heinous thing, like making arrangements to kill someone.nWhen Diane receives The Blue Key from the hit man, we see The Bum Behind thenWinkies (Satan) dropping the blue box and releasing these two evil looking oldnpeople that I see as demons from hell, I mean, one look at these old dudes andnyou’ll agree with me, they are demonic looking! It seems to me they’ve come tonget Diane for the sins she’s committed! What was Diane’s sin? Attempting to getnCamilla killed by paying the hit man! So we see the old demons chasing Diane tonher bed room, once there, Diane grabs a gun from her night table and shootsnherself in the head!
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nCHAPTER 10

nTHE COWBOY RESURRECTS DIANE

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nSo Diane has committed a sin, sure, she has to pay for it,nso this is why demons from hell came for her. But what if God considers thenevents that led to her death unjust? The all knowing, omnipresent Cowboy (Omnipresencenbeing another trait that God possesses) apparently decides that Diane has had anrough life, that the events that led to her suicide where unjust, so he decidesnto give her a break. So this is essentially a battle between God and Satan fornDiane and Camilla’s soul! God things she deserves a break while the Devil wantsnher to pay for what she’s done. This is the reason why after Diane dies, thenCowboy walks into her room and tells her “time to wake up”, who else can wakenpeople from the dead but God? This type of action lets us see that The Cowboynis indeed a character that is supernatural in nature and why I conclude that henis God. In the film, he is like a watcher, he is always lurking somewhere innthe background, observing what is going on. During the cruel dinner scene, henwas there seeing the events unfold, if you pay attention, you’ll see himnwalking in the background. So it is my belief that The Cowboy saw what was donento Diane, saw how these cruel acts made her commit suicide so he decided tongive Diane a second chance; so now Diane is going to live again. Will her lifenbe better this time around?  

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nCHAPTER 11

nDIANE’S SHINNY NEW LIFE

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nSo Diane does get to come back to life, only this time,nthings are happier, scratch that, things are perfect! On this second chance atnlife Diane’s new name is Betty Elms. She’s just arrived at Los Angeles, thenname of the city itself an allusion to the fact that this is really Diane,ncoming back from the afterlife. If you pay attention, when she’s coming downnthe escalator at the airport, Lynch focuses on the words “City of Angels” andnon the walls, we see little designs of clouds, as if she was coming down fromnheaven.  This time, the two demonic oldnpeople that had come out of the Blue Box and tortured her till she killednherself seem angelically nice. Betty says she just met them on the plane, andnwe kind of get the idea that they function as guardian angels to Betty.  This time around Betty/Diane is still annaspiring actress, but things are different. Her attitude has changed! She’s allnpositive about her prospects as an actress and we gotta remember, one of thenthings the Cowboy told Adam was that our attitude in life determines the kindnof life we will live. So anyhow, Betty’s aunt Ruth is letting her stay in hernhouse so that she can go to a big audition. Everything seems perfect this timenaround, even the way Lynch shot the scenes, everything’s colorful and brightlynlit as opposed to Diane’s previous life which was all dark, grey andndepressive. Could this new life be The Cowboys way of giving Diane a chance atnliving a better life, a happier life? Maybe he figures she suffered enough andndeserves a shot at happiness? Apparently so because when Dianne goes to annaudition for a film it goes splendidly well! The producer and director lovenher! Apparently she’s going to get the part!

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nCHAPETER 12

nBETTY ALMOST MEETS ADAM KESHER…AGAIN!

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nAfter her splendid audition, a casting director decides to takenBetty to meet a hot young film director whom she considers better. This youngnfilmmaker as fate would have it ends up being none other than Adam Kesher! Here’snwhere we understand why The Cowboy (God) wanted Adam Kesher to choose anotherngirl! If Adam hadn’t chosen somebody else, Betty would have auditioned fornKesher’s film and she would have ended up meeting Kesher and Camilla again! Keshernmight have recognized her from when he knew her as Diane, Camilla’s obsessivengirlfriend! But Betty is not Diane anymore, she’s Betty! Had Kesher not chosenanother actress, Betty would have ended up right back with Camilla and Kesher,nthe two people who psychologically tortured her and made her commit suicide! Tonavoid all this, The Cowboy made sure that Kesher chose somebody else. Still, forna brief second Adam and Betty do see each other from afar, but apparently,nKesher can’t recognize her. Thankfully, Betty remembers she has to meet Ritanand so she leaves before she can actually meet Kesher. Phew!  Crisis averted!  

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nCHAPTER 13

nCAMILLA AVOIDS HER OWN DEATH, LOOSES MEMORY

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nDiane is dead, and she’s come back as innocent and happy Betty,nbut we gotta remember that Diane paid a hit man to kill Camilla and said hitnman is still out to kill Camilla! And so, as Camilla rides a Limo, she doesn’t knownit, but she’s about to get shot by the drivers, who are the hit men. These arenthe hit men that Diane paid for in her previous life! Anyways, suddenly, anfreak car accident sets her free from being murdered! The hit men die in thenaccident and Camilla manages to escape, but there’s a catch, the concussionnthat Camilla receives makes her forget who she was! So now Camilla doesn’t knownshe’s Camilla, she doesn’t know Adam or Diane, she can’t remember a thing! Sonshe begins to wander aimlessly through city of Los Angeles, not knowing who shenis or where to go to.  

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nCHAPTER 14

nCAMILLA RE-ENCOUNTERS DIANNE IN THE FORM OF BETTY

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nEventually Camilla, in her disorientation, finds an emptynapartment and decides to hide in it. She doesn’t know it yet, but this is thensame apartment that Betty/Diane is staying in! Yup, as fate would have it,nCamilla aimlessly wonders right back into Diane’s second chance at life! Thesentwo women who had been lovers in a previous life have now re-encountered eachnother, the only problem is that neither one of them recognizes each other.nCamilla can’t remember who Diane is because she’s lost her memory and Dianencan’t remember Camilla because she can’t remember anything from her previousnlife! So they both treat each other like perfect strangers! Camilla can’tnremember her name so she gives Betty the first name she sees on a movie posternwhich is Rita. So on this second go, Camilla is now known as Rita and Diane isnnow Betty. Betty ends up pitying Rita and wanting to help her, perhaps becausenthe attraction and feelings she had for Camilla in her previous life are stillnthere somehow. To me it always seemed like their love, their attraction for eachnother was so strong that even now, on this second life their souls end upnconverging. “Perhaps we’ll meet again in another life” is a common phrase; Inthink we could apply it here. 

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nCHAPTER 15

nBETTY AND RITA BECOME DETECTIVES

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nRita came into Betty’s apartment with a purse that had twonthings:  a Blue Key and a large amount ofnmoney. What was the money for? Perhaps Camilla was going to get someone killednas well? At any rate, Camilla must have done a seriously evil deed in order tonreceive the dreaded blue key. So anyhow, Betty wants to help Rita remember whonshe is, so she calls the cops trying to figure out what happened at the scenenof the accident. Rita suddenly remembers a name ‘Diane Selwyn’! Betty doesn’tnrealize it, but Rita is talking about Betty’s past self! Rita/Camilla isnstarting to remember who Diane was! Then Betty decides to look up Diane Selwynnin the yellow pages, they find out there’s only one Diane Selwyn, they call hernbut get a recorded message; when Camilla hears the message she recognizes thenvoice and says “I know that voice!” Of course, she recognizes it because Dianenuse to be her lover and roommate! Next they decide to go see where this DianenSelwyn lives. When they get there, they walk into the empty apartment and startnexploring it until a hideous smell leads them to the bedroom where theyndiscover Diane Selwyn, dead on her bed! In other words: Betty discovers thenbody she used to inhabit in her previous life! With her brains blown out! Thenbody decayed! The horror! She doesn’t recognize herself though because the bodynis so decayed.

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nCHAPTER 16

nBETTY AND RITA GET IT ON…AGAIN!

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nRita is horrified after having discovered the dead body; shendecides she wants to cut all ties with who she was, so she puts on a blondenwig. Now Betty and Rita look like two blond twins or something. So anyways, onenthing leads to another and Rita and Betty end up naked on the same bed, theirnprevious passions resurface and voila! They end up making out. Funny how Bettynasks Rita “have you done this before?” and Rita replies “I don’t know”, innreality, they’d both been lovers before, they just can’t remember! In the midstnof the passion Betty tells Rita she loves her, but Rita doesn’t say the same,nwhich kind of mirrors their previous relationship which was only physical, atnleast from Rita’s side. On a personal note, this is one of the most erotic love scenes ever filmed! So after their make out session, while they are bothnsound asleep, suddenly Rita starts saying “Silencio!” which means ‘silence’ in Spanish,nthen she says “No hay banda” which means “There is no band!”.  When you first see the film, this is a reallynspooky moment because it’s like, suddenly Rita can speak Spanish? What else don’tnwe know about Rita? So right there and then, at 2 in the a.m., Rita begs Bettynto come with her somewhere. That somewhere is a place called “Club Silencio”, anplace that apparently Rita frequented.

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nCHAPTER 17

nCLUB SILENCIO

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nNow here’s a scene in which many of the films themes arenaccentuated. Club Silencio is a theater in which we see performers doing illusionsnon stage. First we see an illusionist come up on stage and tell us that “therenis no band”. We hear a trumpet, we hear a trombone, but it’s all recorded,nnothing is real, the overall message is that everything is an illusion. Thenphrase “life is but a dream” or “life is an illusion” applies here. To me thenIllusionist is the same character as the bum behind the Winkies, he is Satanncoming to claim these girls souls. Both have done horrible deeds, and both mustnpay for what they have done, I mean, just the guys face let’s you know he isnevil. When the illusionist stares at Betty, we hear thunder and blue light andnBetty starts shaking uncontrollably. To me what’s happening here is that thenillusionist is placing the Blue Box (which is essentially a doorway to Hell) onnBetty’s purse. He recognizes these two souls as souls who have eluded him whennthey should have gone to hell to pay for their sins. When the blue light fadesnand the smoke disappears, the Illusionist is also gone from the stage.nSuddenly, Betty realizes that the Blue Box is in her purse. After that we herenRebecca del Rio sing a Spanish version of Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’ a song that appliesnperfectly to Diane’s unrequited love for Camilla. Read these lines from thensong and you’ll see what I mean:

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n“When you said “so long” left me standing there all alone,nalone and crying”

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n”I thought that I was over you, But it’s true, oh so true, Inlove you even more, than I did before”

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n”But darling what can I do? For you don’t love me, and I’llnalways be crying over you”

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nAfter Rita and Betty give a good cry together they both knownwhat they have to do with the Blue Key that they’d found in Rita’s purse! Theynhave to use it on the Blue Box that magically appeared in Betty’s purse! Again,nthis sudden appearance of the Blue Box in Betty’s purse alludes to supernaturalnevents happening which is why I go with the God/Satan angle with this movie.  It’s really the angle that makes the mostnsense.

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nCHAPTER  18

nFINALLY RITA AND BETTY USE THE BLUE KEY ON THE BLUE BOX

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