David Lynch's Mulholland Drive : " Everything is Recorded , Rest are all Illusion " A movie is one which has a Start , intermission & ending and almost everyone of us are used to such formula all through our life time. Be it any movie or any famous directors with a mind bending powerful script , yet they still fit into this small circle because if it doesn't then it will be hardly accepted by the audience as everyone love a good start , a crispy intermission and a happy or clear ending for any movies they watch.
Here is one such Director who breaks this formula on movies where the sequences forced happen in a chronological order. He breaks all these barriers with a movie where he places the intermission at first half , ending at the intermission and starting sequences at the ending , making it impossible for the audience to understand anything at their first watch with this randomness . More importantly , the way the clues are placed in the movie and how he expects the audience to decipher his messages with the sequences he places in it is perfectly mind-blowing. Hats off to David lynch for making such a Daring movie " Mulholland drive " with such a powerful script 'n' plot with which it easily positions itself in top mind bending movies of all time . If you see closely ( may be after your 3rd time watch ) when you really start to have some clue on the story by differentiating between dream and reality , you tend to realize that it is not really that difficult storyline to understand but the way it was presented makes it more complex for a Average IQ person to decipher it at first intense.
There might be many who have watched this movie couple of times but has still has some unanswered questions . I here was in same position like you but with repeated watching and dissecting it as much as i can i was able to understand somewhat better and i will here try my best to answer few of common questions which might arise during your movie watch. Hope i make you understand the story at best of my abilities and i directly go into question & answers as well as run-through script pictorial explanation with timeline reference instead of normal style of reviewing a movie.
Before we get into it , lets understand quickly the two key characters in this film
Rita / Camilla - Laura Harring ( Left )
Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn - Naomi Watts ( Right )
This article is not for those who havent seen the movie not even once. This is a guide for those who watched it and have questions relating to it.
======================================================================
1) What does the Initial Blanket Scene indicates after the title ?
[ 02:08 Min ] That Snoring effect like someone sleeping during the Red blanket scene gives a hint to audience on what they are about to witness in next few minutes on a movie which travels between dream 'n' reality.
2) What does that Initial Mulholland Sign Board means and what is with Limo accident ?
[ 02:31 Min ] we notice Mulholland Sign board and at [ 05:42 Min ] We notice a women in a limo accident before which two strangers ( Limo driver cum attendee ) try to shoot the women in the car and killer her but she escapes when a car driven by some drunken youths from other direction crash straight into Limo killing those two strangers in limo instantly but the women survives. She doesn't have any name at this instance of the movie.
At the ending Camilla calls Diane for a Star party and sends a limo to pick her up with same two strange drivers [ 02:08:05 Min & 02:09:09 Min ] . This is in reality and this is what gets reflected in her dreams as shown above.
3) Who are Betty & Rita , How did they get Introduced ?
First Lets understand one very important thing . In most of the dreams , the real faces or people we meet in life might play a important role in the dream but not necessarily they should be having the same names as in real life but many incidents in real life and many people you happen to know or seen in real life might take a huge part in your dream. Here in this movie the first portion of the movie will have so many characters as if its happening real but not until second half starts many things start to unfold one after the other. So for which we need to know the important events in first part. It could be lengthy So read closely......
As above [ 05:10 Min ] a women meets with a accident in her Limo , she narrowly escapes and she goes to nearby place escaping from the accident scene knowing that someone is trying to kill her.
[ 10:53 Min ] Betty's aunt Moving out to Canada for a shooting .So she is luggage in the car
[ 10:55 Min ] The women who went through the accident in Limo cautiously sneaks into the house of Betty's aunt while she was busy placing her luggage in the car she booked for airport.Her aunt leaves to airport without realizing there is someone locked down in her house.
[ 18:44 Min ] Betty reaches through the exit gateway in airport showing she just reached Los angles.
[ 18:53 Min ] Betty says goodbye to the old couple Mrs.Irene and her hunband before she gets into the car to reach to her aunts mansion.
[ 20:58 Min ] Betty reaches the mansion and meets manager of the mansion Mrs.Lenoix aka CoCo and she takes better to her aunts apartment.
[ 22:29 Min ] Betty gets into her aunts house and while she unpacks her luggage she notices someone else in the house taking shower in the bathroom.
[ 25:22 Min ] Betty asks that women her name. The women has lost her memory in the accident and not knowing what to say , she just overlooks at a poster in the bathroom with name Rita Hayworth and she replies to Betty that he name is Rita. Betty thinks Rita is her aunts friend so she didnot panic and she introduces herself and says she is from Deep river Ontrario and she came to canada with a dream of becoming a actress. She also says that her aunt is a well known star acted in few movies and with her reference she is going to attend a audition for a new movie .
[ 27:18 Min ] Betty's Aunt name as " Ruth " is not revealed until this scene when she leaves a note to Betty nearby the bed.
[ 43:32 Min ] Rita explains that she is not friend of her aunt and that she really doesnt know who she is and explains to better about her memory loss and the accident happened to her limo in Mulholland drive
[ 44:22 Min ] Betty and Rita try to check Rita's Purse to see if they could find who she really is..Instead they Find bundles of dollars $ 50k in cash.
[ 44:40 Min ] They also notice a big Blue key in her purse which at this moment is unknown on its purpose.
[ 54:32 Min ] Betty tries to call Police from a public phone nearby to inquire about any accident in Mulholland drive . Police confirm the same in return but they didnot provide any identities of the victims and Betty abruptly cuts the call when police inquire who she is.
4) Whats So Important with Winkies Restaurant ?
Winkies restaurant serves as a Bridge between three layers in this movie a) Dream Layer b) Reality c) Flashback and almost all the characters go through this one single spot so this location becomes so important in understanding this movie .
[ 54:58 Min ] Rita and Betty got to Winkies for dining. There Rita sees the Waitress badge in the restaurant as Diane and she thinks she might be Diane . This is in Dream
5) What about the Two Strange Characters who Meet at the Winkies Restaurant ?
Below are the two strange characters who meet at the restaurant. Watch carefully.
[ 13:17 Min ] These two guys talk about a strange event and where the guy in Suit seem to be a detective and the person opposite tries to explain about a strange face he sees in the dream and that he is scared to death whenever he faces it and he also says he can see through the wall.
[ 14:17 Min ] This is where the guy sees the detective near the counter and he did say the detective also looked scared in his dream when he saw the same strange face.
[ 2:18:02 ] In reality Diane sees the strange guy near the counter and she is sitting in place of the guy as in [ 14:17 Min ] . This is where Diane picked this face to her dream and the previous is all but just dream. The strange man represents her fear
6) How exactly We know what is Dream , when it ends and what is reality ?
[ 54:58 Min ] Rita and Betty got to Winkies for dining. There Rita sees the Waitress badge in the restaurant as Diane and she thinks she might be Diane . This is in Dream
[ 2:16:15 Min ] This is where Diane Sees the waitress with the Badge Name Betty and this is how she places herself in this name in her Dream.
5) What about the Two Strange Characters who Meet at the Winkies Restaurant ?
Below are the two strange characters who meet at the restaurant. Watch carefully.
[ 13:17 Min ] These two guys talk about a strange event and where the guy in Suit seem to be a detective and the person opposite tries to explain about a strange face he sees in the dream and that he is scared to death whenever he faces it and he also says he can see through the wall.
[ 14:17 Min ] This is where the guy sees the detective near the counter and he did say the detective also looked scared in his dream when he saw the same strange face.
[ 2:18:02 ] In reality Diane sees the strange guy near the counter and she is sitting in place of the guy as in [ 14:17 Min ] . This is where Diane picked this face to her dream and the previous is all but just dream. The strange man represents her fear
6) How exactly We know what is Dream , when it ends and what is reality ?
[ 1:54:57 Min ] After the show in Silencio , Betty and Rita Finds a Blue Box in Rita's purse. When Rita reaches home , betty is there no more. Rita tries to open the box with the Big Blue key she already has with her... As soon as she opens she is showen as if she is sucked into the empty box.
[ 1:55:09 Min ] The Box just falls down meaning Rita is no more too...... and the box is just the symbol of Dream
[ 1:55:54 Min ] Now Betty is still sleeping in the Bed and Auth Ruth wakes her Up . This is Dream too. Aunt ruth is part of the dream which we will discuss next.
[ 1:56:39 Min ] Even the cowboy wakes her up and closes her room door meaning like a kicker to the dream instructing indirectly Diane to wake up from the dream.
[ 1:56:55 Min ] Diane wakes up .This is the start of Reality. This is where Dream ends completely
[ 1:57:14 Min ] The face Reaction of Diane Explains she did had a bad dream or a dream which was soo tangled and confusing.
7) What happened to Aunt Ruth and what exactly that Blue Box Symbolizes ?
As per Betty Aunt ruth Leaves to Canada for some shooting.but in reality Aunt Ruth is dead and she left Diane some money and she was one who wished Diane to come to Los Angles to try her Luck. This is explained in Second half Dinner party in Adams place. [ 2:12:52 Min ]
and Wherever we see Bluebox ,its clearly a Dream or a illusion which is unreal and so whenever we see Aunt Ruth or Blue Box it is clearly a dream.
8) How are few characters from reality gets defined in Diane's Dream ?
[ 1:28:59 Min ] Betty and Rita take a car to Bonta Apartment No : 2590 in search of Diane in an attempt to know more about who Rita really is.
[ 1:32:59 ] They notice Diana apartment as Flat No : 12. When they go to nO: 12 , Someone else is there and she says Diane swapped her Flat with her and that he is now in Flat no : 17
[ 1:58:04 Min ] Now its reality when the Neighbor from Flat No : 12 in her dreams come in real knock her door and wake her up to collect her things from her flat. She also informs diane that two detectives came looking for her leaving us guessing that there was some crime incident occured relating her with it and detectives are looking for her.
[ 2:11:31 Min ] Also we get to understand that the Manager of Aunt Ruth mansion CoCo is mother of Director Adam in real life.
9) Who is that Cowboy and from where he gets Picked ?
Director adam is one person who performs the same role as director in real as well as in Dreams. When adam rejects to pick the actress Ryan Entertainment Company asked him too, they send a cowboy kindoff person to threaten the director. [ 1:00:17 Min ]
[ 1:06:39 Min ] Cowboy meets adams and delivers message " A mans Attitude Goes some way , The way his life will be " This line is very important for Diane in real life as her attitude and being Jealous has caused so much drastic events in her Life. The Cowboy also say to adam " You will see me one more time if you do good , You will see me two more time if you do bad " and he did revisit Betty One more time at 1:56:39 Min to put a end to the dream and get her back to reality.
[ 2:15:09 Min ] During the Dinner event in Director adam house when he announces his engagement with Camilla , at the background we can see the cowboy walking and this is where Diane picked him up to her dream.
10) What Exactly that small Blue Key at the end mean ?
[ 1:58:53 Min ] When diane Wakes up and makes coffee for her , she sees a small blue key at the table
[ 2:16:13 Min ] At almost the ending when Diane meets the contrat killer , gives him some money to Kill camilla . The killer says he will Leave a blue key at her place when its done. So as per above image when Diane woke up and saw the blue key at 1:58:53 Min it means Camilla is already dead. So the below images are part of Flash back portions.
11) Camilla in Dream is different , Camilla in Real life is different ?
[ 28:53 Min ] When Castigliance Brothers from Ryan entertainment meet Director adam , they force to use actress in below picture Camilla Rhodes for his new film.
[ 1:25:32 Min ] This is during Camila Audition and this is in dreams.
[ 2:05:12 Min ] This is when Adam kiss Camilla in real at his film sets. This is real Camilla .
[ 2:14:55 Min ] Now the Camilla in dream is kissing Real actress Camilla in the party. This is where Diana picks the Camilla in dream .
This is the picture of Real camilla when Diane gives it to Contract killer .
12) Why Diane Wants to Kill Camilla ?
Diane and Camilla are more then just friends , they are in deep love and share a intimate relationship which involves sex too. Diane and Camilla are both together but in fact in reality Diane was not able to make it to the Hollywood and all she faced is failure. But on the other hand Camilla was successful , she was able to get close to Director Adam and got herself a opportunity in his new film. As days progressed , distance between Diane and Camilla grew while camilla got too close to Director adam. When director announced his engagement with Camilla at the party , Diane was shocked. Added to that she seems that Camilla in dream kissing real camilla in the party which shocks her up so much. She gets so depressed , starts to feel alone , she even starts to see illusions of Camilla, she even masturbates herself thinking of camila and its clear evident what she is going through. She was not able to take this pain anymore , this fear of losing everything , failure at every end of her life so she decides extreme step to eliminate Camilla from her life totally by killing her .
This strange face is nothing but Fear and Despair and this character holding the Blue Box means the dreams controlled by Fear and Loss. This is what the director wants us to think as this is unreal but yet this character is so powerful making us feel the fear of good and bad deeds where ones attitude is responsible for everything.
14) What is that Band Silencio try to explain us ?
[ 1:46:18 Min ] Silencio is nothing but a place betty takes Rita where they understand the true meaning of life and being a actress. The show potrays as Everything to be illusion and all are recorded in tapes. Also we noticed that the lady singer Rebekah Del Rio depicted as if she dies performing , yet the song keeps continuing even after she passes away . This makes Betty to realize that no matter her dreams to be a actress , life just goes on no matter what and there is always someone to take the place. Its what they produce stays longer even after their death but not their flesh n body which is important. Also the song Rebekah sings about Love , separation and pain brings tears to both of them showing their love towards each other and how much they empathize with the song lyrics.
15) What is Michael J. Anderson - Mr.Roque Character really mean ?
As we know these characters are fictional as it takes part in dream but what it potrays is that Camilla didnot get the oppurnity by right means and that she took a cross path to get herself a chance. So this gets translated in Dianes dream in such a way that Director Adam was forced by some unknown big shots to cast her in the film. So this explains what goes in diane's mind about Camilla and her growth in film industry.
16) What does this killing mean on a apartment ?
This is nothing but Diane's continuation in her dream depicting as if the killer is in search of Rita and he finds the person who drove the vehicle against the limo in starting scene causing accident , he even kills that guy along with killing other eye witness like the floor cleaner , neighbor fat women . So the killer is shown as if he is trying to find whereabouts of the brunette girl ( girl with brown hair ) Rita in our case. The killer even takes the black book with him and it just serves us a reference to who he is when Diane gives money to the contract killer at the end scene where she mentions about the black book.
17) What does the ending mean ?
It just means that Diane is not able to take the horrors of her actions anymore and that she is not able to cope up with the pain of losing her love . She just start to hallucinating herself that the people she met in real life are starting to terrorize her and with all the illusions happening following her bad dream it just that she cant take it anymore and decides to kill herself. Picks up the gun from the drawer and shoots herself and there ends the pain permanently. Possiveness towards her love , Her attitude towards her life , Her being jealous with the growth of camilla and the fear of speration costed her life.
******************** Thanks for reading . Hope it helped somewhat. ***********************
Categories: