David Lynch
USA, 2001
Initially a television spin-off of Lynch's Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive grew to have a life of its own after several re-writes over a series of years. Starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, and others, the initial script was supposed to rocket Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne on Twin Peaks) into super stardom. However, after the abrupt cancellation of Twin Peaks (as evidenced by the quick and disappointing final episode) and several years of trying to write the pilot for this new series, Lynch bagged the episodic idea and focused on making the piece a full-length feature. Because of this swift change, the film has a characteristic splintered nature that defines the whole of it as "Lynchian".
The film begins with the attempted hit of a rising star (Laura Harring) on the title bearing, Mulholland Drive. The hit fails because of a car accident, and the actress awakes in the damaged vehicle with no memory of who she is. After wandering the streets of Los Angeles, she finds an older woman moving out of her apartment. Harring sneaks in and makes herself at home.
Meanwhile, a young wannabe actress, Watts, arrives in LA with dreams of making it big in film. She moves into her Aunt's apartment, where Harring has made her home, and Watts discovers the strange, amnesiac woman. She decides to help Harring discover who she is, and why someone would try to kill her.
As they attempt to solve the mystery, the storyline then follows a young director, Theroux, being pressured by a higher ups who wants to manage his film. While attempting to subvert them, he finds that they have more power in the industry then previously realized. He meets Watts' character at an audition and seems to fall in love with her. Watts leaves to go help Harring with her identity search. This is where the film takes an even more bizarre turn to the realistic from the surrealistic storyline.
Like other Lynch films (see Blue Velvet in previous post), Lynch's main purpose is to foil the pristine, innocent, goodness of one world to the dark, menacing, murderous machinations of the other. This polarity highlights the differences between the two and serves to illustrate his ultimate objective to expose the real for what it truly is. Lynch accomplishes this matching of moralities abruptly. The entire first hour and a half follows the purity and goodness of Watts relationship with Harring. He shows the honesty, caring, and ultimate love between the two that is founded out of goodness. The other plot points: the man in the diner, the director trying to gain control of his film, the mysterious cowboy, the aging actress who is now a landlord, are all unnecessary comedic bits, until the realistic and harsh second half is revealed. These plot points than make sense within the context of the first half because they are deemed necessary in the second. By connecting the two different versions of each characters lives in the first world and then the other, the audience comes to understand and see the whole picture, and Lynch's objective is completed. While there are varying opinions as to the meaning of the ending of Mulholland Drive, one statement remains true. While Lynch's idealistic, surreal, and bizarre world is what we're lead to believe; the truth can be found in the rawness of reality.
While some criticize Mulholland Drive for its heavy handedness, schism driven plot, and confusing nature, it is a wonderful example of Lynch's constant attempts to draw the line between the polarity of good and evil. This film is definitely a worthy introduction to Lynch's filmmaking and storytelling. For those wishing to watch the absurd, the sometimes corny, and the sometimes horrifying, Mulholland Drive is your film.
USA, 2001
Initially a television spin-off of Lynch's Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive grew to have a life of its own after several re-writes over a series of years. Starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, and others, the initial script was supposed to rocket Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne on Twin Peaks) into super stardom. However, after the abrupt cancellation of Twin Peaks (as evidenced by the quick and disappointing final episode) and several years of trying to write the pilot for this new series, Lynch bagged the episodic idea and focused on making the piece a full-length feature. Because of this swift change, the film has a characteristic splintered nature that defines the whole of it as "Lynchian".
The film begins with the attempted hit of a rising star (Laura Harring) on the title bearing, Mulholland Drive. The hit fails because of a car accident, and the actress awakes in the damaged vehicle with no memory of who she is. After wandering the streets of Los Angeles, she finds an older woman moving out of her apartment. Harring sneaks in and makes herself at home.
Meanwhile, a young wannabe actress, Watts, arrives in LA with dreams of making it big in film. She moves into her Aunt's apartment, where Harring has made her home, and Watts discovers the strange, amnesiac woman. She decides to help Harring discover who she is, and why someone would try to kill her.
As they attempt to solve the mystery, the storyline then follows a young director, Theroux, being pressured by a higher ups who wants to manage his film. While attempting to subvert them, he finds that they have more power in the industry then previously realized. He meets Watts' character at an audition and seems to fall in love with her. Watts leaves to go help Harring with her identity search. This is where the film takes an even more bizarre turn to the realistic from the surrealistic storyline.
Like other Lynch films (see Blue Velvet in previous post), Lynch's main purpose is to foil the pristine, innocent, goodness of one world to the dark, menacing, murderous machinations of the other. This polarity highlights the differences between the two and serves to illustrate his ultimate objective to expose the real for what it truly is. Lynch accomplishes this matching of moralities abruptly. The entire first hour and a half follows the purity and goodness of Watts relationship with Harring. He shows the honesty, caring, and ultimate love between the two that is founded out of goodness. The other plot points: the man in the diner, the director trying to gain control of his film, the mysterious cowboy, the aging actress who is now a landlord, are all unnecessary comedic bits, until the realistic and harsh second half is revealed. These plot points than make sense within the context of the first half because they are deemed necessary in the second. By connecting the two different versions of each characters lives in the first world and then the other, the audience comes to understand and see the whole picture, and Lynch's objective is completed. While there are varying opinions as to the meaning of the ending of Mulholland Drive, one statement remains true. While Lynch's idealistic, surreal, and bizarre world is what we're lead to believe; the truth can be found in the rawness of reality.
While some criticize Mulholland Drive for its heavy handedness, schism driven plot, and confusing nature, it is a wonderful example of Lynch's constant attempts to draw the line between the polarity of good and evil. This film is definitely a worthy introduction to Lynch's filmmaking and storytelling. For those wishing to watch the absurd, the sometimes corny, and the sometimes horrifying, Mulholland Drive is your film.