Deep-Cut Review: Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive : Universal Pictures
Runtime: 147 mins Release Date: October 26th 2001
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller, Robert forster
Screenplay: David Lynch Score: Angelo Badalamenti
Distributor: Universal Pictures
For my first deep cut, I’m excited to introduce you to the world of David Lynch through a review of one of my favourite films: Mulholland Drive. This film noir-esque story about Hollywood tests your perception of reality. It can take a bit for the film to really get its hooks into you, but once it does you won’t be able to stop watching. Lynch’s surreal portrayal of Hollywood is both captivating and unsettling, reflecting the dreams and disillusionments of those trying to break into the entertainment industry. While the film initially presents a bright and sunny Hollywood, there is a darker side to the story that slowly unveils itself as the film progresses.
The film opens with a limousine driving up Mulholland Drive, the limo stops and the drivers of the car pull a gun on the woman in the back (Laura Harring) before she can be shot a car veers off the road and rams into the front of the vehicle somehow leaving her mostly unscathed and everyone else dead. She makes her way through a trail through a forest near the street down into the sparkling lights of Hollywood. She eventually finds an apartment where the owner has left the door open while they take their bags out to go on a long trip, she sneaks in while they are distracted and falls asleep on the floor.
Mulholland Drive: Universal Pictures
Later, Betty (Naomi Watts), a hopeful Canadian girl arrives at the apartment. She’s been invited to stay there while her aunt is away working on a film in another country. Betty wants to become a moviestar, and is out there to pursue that dream. When she arrives she finds that the woman who snuck in is taking a shower and assumes that she is her aunt's friend instead of an intruder, the woman calls herself Rita, based on a poster she saw of Rita Hayworth because she cannot remember her own name. Throughout the film, Rita and Betty navigate a series of surreal events, uncovering the darkness behind Hollywood’s glamorous facade as they attempt to determine Rita’s true identity and the significance of the mysterious items found in her purse.
Much like the real Mulholland Drive, the film takes many twists and turns from beginning to end; from funny, to surreal to sometimes conveying outright insanity. Lynch’s films often provoke questions and, more importantly, emotions from viewers. He believes that understanding is less important than feeling the film. He prefers his viewers interpret his visual language on their own, rather than being offered a concrete explanation. While it might take some time for the film to fully captivate you, rest assured, the wait is well worth it.
