 "Amazing" | 2010-02-08 |
| - Reviewed By FF from California |
Like life, we are given a swirling soup of experience, then have to construct a meaning from it all. That the meaning we arrive at is by no means predetermined & unambiguous, as well as the fact that we first have to undo the macrame Diane has woven from the strands to justify herself makes this gem of a film linger in the mind.
While many reviewers seem to throw their hands in the air & claim that this film is not meant to have any real coherence, just atmosphere, I disagree. There are certainly thought-provoking ambiguities, but there is also deep structure that keeps us enthralled by the story. The hero arcs, just not happily.
There seems to be some common confusion about a number of the scenes & characters. Here are my interpretations of some of the most frequently asked questions. Beware of spoilers!:
This film has been called a dream by several reviewers, but to me it's more just the way the mind works all the time, constantly mashing things up, rewriting events until a final version of history is reached, usually on reflection & in consultation with others. Especially if--like our protagonist--you are wigged out about broken love, probably on drugs, & seriously depressed about your career. For instance, how many times have you worked out this kind of detail with your significant other?: so, who was that person at the party? Oh, I thought he was her brother. No? Her boyfriend? Didn't she work for Xerox? Oh, it was Kodak. Wasn't that the other girl? I thought he had dark hair. His name is Dave, right? No, John...etc. Now turn that process into pictures & it looks a lot like Mulholland Drive.
How do we know that Diane was involved in prostitution?
Did you notice that the prostitute in the scene with the hitman [pimp?] matched the general description of Diane, i.e. blond, passive, young? Did you wonder how a struggling actress might have known a hitman to call to bump off her ex-lover? In fact, there are a lot of blonds in this movie, & they all seem to represent Diane--either her delusional ideals or her reality.
Why is Camilla/Rita such a darling of the mafia dons who are pushing to get her in the lead role of "The Sylvia North Story"?
I found the power-brokers to be far more symbolic than real. They were Greek Gods, dispensing favor capriciously, spurning sincere burnt offerings [espresso, I love it!], & selecting favorites more or less on whim. At least that was Diane's perception of things, although the audition scene clearly suggests that Camilla's acting chops & screen sexuality were much stronger than Diane's, even though we saw the scene as though Diane was the actress. The theme of Greek mythology was hit on in the opening scene as well, as the man in the coffee shop acts out a convincing oracle, & later, as the Lee Grant character predicts impending doom like a Cassandra.
How do we know that Aunt Ruth was dead in real life?
Diane tells us at the dinner party. Also, where else would a struggling actress have gotten a large amount of cash to slide across a table to a hitman if not from that inheritance? Maybe having spent her last resource helped push her over the edge.
Why did Rita feel compelled to cut her hair after the "Silencio?"
Diane was putting things back together in her mind, realizing the consequences of her actions, separating the reality of herself from the fairytale version conflated from her initial naivete & inflated perception of her talent, talent that was actually Camilla's. The two characters beginning to look alike demonstrates this recognition, as does the final disappearance of Rita.
What was the purpose of the older couple she met on her flight into Hollywood & at the end of the film?
To me, they seem to symbolize hope--the hope of a naive young actress just arriving in Hollywood, the hope that was the only thing that Pandora managed to hold in the box after she released all ills on humanity, & the hope that escaped that blue box when it was dropped in the brown paper bag by the beast behind Winkie's near the end [perhaps also a comment on Diane's substance abuse]. The torment of failed hope in the form of the fluttering hands of the old couple was what finally caused Diane to pull the trigger.
One thing I haven't seem other reviewers mention is how referential the imagery of this film is to Hollywood. Diane's early outfits [& hair] look like they were done by Edith Head for a Hitchcock film; Cowboy looks like a live-action Howdy Doody; & actors seem to have been chosen for their resonance: Ann Miller, Chad Everett, Billy-Ray Cyrus. |
| |
| "Open the box and let it eat you alive..." | 2009-11-25 |
| - Reviewed By Andrew Ellington from Mulholland Drive |
Here's the deal; David Lynch is an acquired taste, so much so that many, many people will never acquire the taste needed to appreciate him. The best thing about Lynch is the fact that he doesn't care. From the very beginning, with his BRILLIANT debut film `Eraserhed', Lynch proved that he has a unique visionary style and point of view that he is not willing to bend or compromise just to receive commercial success. `Mulholland Drive' is about as unconventional a film as you can get, and because of that many people are scared of it or turned off by its complexity.
Don't be afraid.
What I admire about Lynch is that he is very willing to use his talent to make a statement, no matter how bold it may be. In `Mulholland Drive', Lynch makes many statements and layers them with enough mystery to keep the audience baffled from beginning to end, which only adds to the importance of a film like this. It will keep you guessing, which will keep you talking, which will keep you interested.
Some have claimed this to be boring. I think they need to watch it again.
Part of me is chomping at the bit to get into just what this film `means', but I really fear that someone who has yet to experience this film will find my rambling to divulging and may in turn feel the need to watch this film null and void. There is so much to say about this film but what can you say without giving away too much of the experience.
The film has been dissected numerous times on this site.
The basic plot is this:
Betty is a young and beautiful aspiring actress who moves to Hollywood and is currently staying in her Aunts home while she is away. After a car accident (portrayed in the films open) a young and beautiful woman named Rita shows up, cursed with amnesia, and Betty decides that she is going to help Rita regain her memory. Rita only remembers two things, `Diane' and `Mulholland Drive'.
Unlocking those secrets is going to take you places you never imagined.
I idea of mirrored dreams is very prominent in this film, for everything you think you see is a stark contrast to the realities the final 30 minutes unveil to us. Exact scenarios and situations appear reversed as Diane's identity is revealed and her life is examined for us. What we are left with is a harrowing discovery that may leave questions unanswered for the `first time viewer', but those questions are easily answered upon repeat viewings. This is a film that really demands your time in order to appreciate it. Lynch feels that it must be seen in one viewing, not paused or stopped for any reason, and I concur, for taking yourself away from the film for merely a moment can cause you to leave the world Lynch is drenching you in. There is a moment, in the film, where a woman sings the song `Crying' and that moment is really the crux for the entire film, explaining so much while seemingly saying so little.
When you watch the film for a second time it will make so much more sense, I promise.
But, truth be told, it is the mystery that makes this film so startling. The interpretations of this film and the personal feelings towards Diane's predicament really play heavily into how much you will or won't accept the film. Your love and hate will depend entirely on your willingness to explore the many twists and turns presented in this film. If you like your entertainment quick and easy then stay away, but if you enjoy taking a film apart, frame for frame, in order to uncover tiny trinkets of deeper meaning then this film will fascinate you.
Oh yeah, and Naomi Watts is a revelation here, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise! |
| |
| "Naomi Watts' Performance is Unbelievably Impressive" | 2009-11-14 |
| - Reviewed By Michael Morales from Los Angeles, CA |
Mulholland Drive is creepy as hell and beautiful to look at.
Some will enjoy the music, the colors, the lighting, the pacing etc.
Others will enjoy Naomi Watts incredible performance where she has to convey the full spectrum of human emotion.
Think about it...the first part of the movie she plays a perky, naive idealist and by the end of the movie she is equally impressive as a burnt out, suicidal depressive. Anyone who has ever acted can tell you how hard that is to do in the same film.
This is one of Lynch's best films. It is filled with unforgettable scenes (Club Silencio, The audition, The casting meeting with the director and the mobsters).
This is one of those films that will stay in your head. |
| |
| "10 New Clues for Unlocking Mulholland Dr." | 2009-10-19 |
| - Reviewed By Boy |
But first, a quick and honest review: One of the best films I've ever seen - mysterious, sexy, tragic, surreal, horrifying, hilarious, and well worth your money. People will tell you it is incomprehensible or meaningless, but they are wrong. See for yourself. Now.
OK, and now the clues:
CLUE 1: Pay special attention to the colors of the bedsheets and pillow we see very early in the film, just after the jitterbug scene fades out. We will see this bed again at a key moment, two hours later in the film. There is no way to overstate the significance of this simple clue.
CLUE 2: A pair of brief and virtually identical scenes bookend the Winkie's scene with Dan, Herb, and the bum. These two quick frame shots tell us something very important about the nature of the beguiling Winkie's sequence.
CLUE 3: A good deal of information can be gleaned from the succession of phone calls made shortly after Rita's disappearance. There are many avenues to explore here, but don't overlook this brief sequence. For instance, why do you think that first call was initially made? What sort of pattern can we see from the first call to the last? And where might that last call have been made to?
CLUE 4: The message on the answering machine when Betty and Rita call Diane Selwyn at her Sierra Bonita residence. Whose voice do we hear on the answering machine? Do we ever hear this message again? If so, when? And what light does all this cast on the mystery of the dead woman whom Betty and Rita find at Diane Selwyn's Sierra Bonita apartment?
CLUE 5: Camilla Rhodes briefly speaks in Spanish to Adam at their dinner party on Mulholland Dr. What is she saying? Who is she talking about? What is Adam's reaction? Lynch packs in a lot of information very quickly here.
CLUE 6: At the dinner party, a mysterious blonde kisses Camilla Rhodes on the lips when Adam isn't looking. Why does this kiss distress Diane so profoundly? What does it reveal?
CLUE 7: Dan makes a second appearance at Winkie's, late in the film, when Diane and Joe are arranging to have Camilla Rhodes murdered. Do you see how Dan fits into the plot here? Do you understand why Lynch included him in this later scene? Give you a hint: it has to do with something stupid Diane does while cutting her deal with Joe. Very few people ever seem to make the necessary connection here.
CLUE 8: Joe the hitman laughs at Diane when she asks him what his blue key opens. This is the key that Joe will leave for Diane after the execution of Camilla Rhodes is carried through. Anyways, why did Lynch include this seemingly pointless scene with Joe mocking Diane? Big hint: it explains the very next scene (one of the most widely misunderstood scenes in the entire film) with the bum behind Winkie's. And have you ever wondered whose perspective (POV) we are watching this latter scene from?
CLUE 9: The gesticulating old couple at the end of the film horrify Diane; they appear to symbolize something unspeakably painful to her. Pay special attention to the sounds (yes, the sounds!) we hear as the tiny oldsters crawl under Di's door to torment her. What might these sounds tell us about what the old couple represent to Diane? And is there any significance to the specific room where they ultimately corner Diane in?
CLUE 10: And finally, something is rather peculiar - even incongruous - about the very last scene with the Blue Haired Lady at Club Silencio. What might this apparent incongruity tell us about the nature of this woman, the club, and the entire story of MULHOLLAND DR. itself?
Also, is this a familiar paradox we've seen at the end of other Lynch mind-benders like ERASERHEAD, the TWIN PEAKS television series, TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME, LOST HIGHWAY, and INLAND EMPIRE? There is a very definite pattern here, so what do you think Lynch is trying to tell us?
I'll eventually post the complete answers to these clues and questions in the reply thread.
In the meantime, good luck...and enjoy. |
| |
| "DAVID LYNCH'S/"MULHOLLAND DR."/"THE PICTURE THAT GETS INSIDE YOUR HEAD & WILL KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT WHILE YOU SHOULD BE IN BED" " | 2009-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By kirufus |
| *REVIEW #28.* THE LETTER GRADE FOR THE DVD OF THE MOVIE PICTURE "DAVID LYNCH'S MUHOLLAND DR." IS: - GRADE: - ( " A+ " ) |
| |
| "Lynch's Multi-Layered Jiggsaw Puzzle" | 2009-06-24 |
| - Reviewed By Bernardo Hayes from Wollongong Australia |
From the outset I must confess that this review is not so much a conventional movie review per se but rather a deeper character and
plot examination/analysis, which I hope will unveil and perhaps shed
some new light on the meanings behind David Lynch's supreme film noir mind bender - Mullholland Drive.
So if you want to experience the thrill of unravelling and 'investigating' the myriad jiggsaw puzzle-like aspects of this movie
for yourself then proceed no further. For those of you familiar or even
well acquainted with the Mullholland Drive universe you may be intrigued
by the theories I present here - so here goes.
First of all, I have not found on any Mullholland Drive internet forums or chat groups discussion about how crucially important a part the 'Cowboy' character plays in the story and in solving/unlocking the various plot threads of the puzzle. How understanding who he is and more importantly who he represents and or symbolizes in Dianes' dream and waking life/reality allows all the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.
The 'Cowboy' has to be one of the most bizarre, chilling and creepiest of creeps in the history of cinema and one that only could have been spawned from the mind of David Lynch ( it's my belief that Lynch has created some of cinema's most diabolically perverse and just plain nasty bad guys or creeps - think Frank Booth in Blue Velvet or Bobby Peru - Wild At Heart - truly sinister).
So lets look more closely at the 'Cowboy' character . It is revealed to us the viewer that the 'Cowboy' holds ultimate control and power over
all the movie's characters and most likely Hollywood. He is the one who is controlling everything - from his underling mob henchmen - The Casiglieri brothers to Camilla Rhodes' bodyguards to the midget Mr Roake.
He is the head honcho, the one calling all the shots from up high in the
Hollywood hills from his 'Corrale'. He has the power to close down the
production of a feature film and he has the power to recast a starring actress (Camilla) in his movie - and it is his movie.
Lynch makes it very clear to us that this is the case. The Cowboy basically uses extortion and threats to strongarm the Adam Kesher character into agreeing to his terms - 'You can ride along with me'.
Now if you accept my theory that he is the ultimate antagonist in the
film and therefore in Diane's dream - pulling all the strings as it were, then we must examine and analyze this character even further.
You will need to watch the film perhaps a few more times to pick up these
details however I will point out some here:
a) Pay special attention to what the 'Cowboy' says and how he says it.
You will notice that he speaks with a 'Southern' accent (possibly Texan) - this is important.
b) Also, look closely at his outfit. No mistaking he's a cowboy alright
with his 10 gallon hat and all. Is it much of a stretch for us to imagine he could also be wearing a Sheriff's badge? Could it be that the
'Cowboy' is also some kind of 'Old Western' stlye Sheriff or U.S Marshall
maybe even a Texas Ranger?
He certainly weilds his power, authority and clout as if he were some
type of high ranking law enforcer - that is clearly evident.
Lynch uses all manner of clever cinematic devices to weave his intricate tapestry. His use of symbolism, metaphor, omens, dream interpretation, psycho-analysis, American History, fable, myth, allegory, cautionary tale, alter ego, dual character, reference/homage to 'Old' Hollywood -
particularly The Wizard of Oz, magic and many more is all here and laced throughout Mullholland Drive.
So if we accept that the 'Cowboy' is not a minor character and is more significant in the context of the plot than what he appears to be at face value, then literally a whole other Pandora's box opens up, with truly new meanings and earth shattering implications unfolding.
I will briefly outline some here.
I believe that the 'Cowboy' is represented not just as the 'Cowboy' but as
2 other characters in the dream section of the movie. They are, can you guess? Gene the Pool Man played by well known country music popstar Billy Ray Cyrus - no less. Making the connection now? And the other manifestation of the 'Cowboy' is the creepy man Betty (Diane) performs
the audition scene with - Wally I think his name is.
Again, if you watch Wally carefully in this scene you will see that he speaks and acts very much like a 'B' grade 'Western' actor from the 1950's and 60's. In the scene they are rehearsing in front of the small group of Director, Producer, Casting Agent etc etc, and in the script Wally plays the part of the girl's incestuous uncle - now this is a key clue. If we apply the logic that the 'Cowboy' is actually being represented or embodied as 3 characters-Cowboy, Gene (Poolman)and Wally then we can begin to see how Lynch is carefully laying the groundwork for us to pick up the true identity of the 'Cowboy' and his real relationship to Diane.
After careful deduction we can see that the 'Cowboy' is a symbolic dream representation of Diane's real-life evil and incestuous Uncle who was the corrupt town Sheriff with Mob connections and who sexually abused her as a young girl.
I believe Lynch does this with all the other main characters in the movie. In Diane's scrambled dream-logic section of the film (first Three Quaters)characters merge, blur and morph and swap around as they do in actual dreams. However, the fundamental attributes of any particular character remains consistant despite them alternating and changing shape and form. In other words every character depicted in the dream section of
the movie can be directly tranlated as someone from Diane's real life and or past.
By applying this logic I believe Lynch has quite clearly layed out how the puzzle of Mullholland Drive can be solved - everthing is symbolic of
something or someone who is important to the logic of the story. I don't
think Lynch has left any aspect of the film to chance. Nothing has been left unanswered under his masterly direction.
I've run out of time and space here but I would like to continue this
essay and reveal more findings, such as how I believe Adam Kesher is a symbol or metaphor for Diane's father. Details about Diane's sad past-
including how she is actually from the South not the North. I believe
Deep River is really a reference to the South's great Missisippi River.
The true meaning of the Blue Box and many more.
So bye for now
Bruce (24.6.09)
|
| |
Expedited Available
