Amethyst

I couldn't use the search function so I didn't know if this movie has been discussed or not but if it has I'm sorry.

Has anyone seen this movie? If so what did you think?

My husband and I watched it yesterday and I totally didn't understand it and I kept thinking it has to make sense and it never did. Maybe it was just me can someone explain please?

Kostya

Allow me to say first that I hated this film with a passion, me a Davey Lynch do NOT get along.

My theory, and be aware that this is merely a theory, the fruit of long hours of ranting and irritated ponderance, is this:

Mullholland Drive is a film with two stories. The actual story is that of Diane, a young actress who arrives in Hollywood and has a relationship of some kind with the tall brunette lady whose name I forget. However, as the later scenes in the film show, she is not a talented actress, and is looked over by casting agents for a more attractive and talented woman. Meanwhile, it would seem that her former partner is now involved with the mysterious blonde lady, since she kisses her in the party scene.

I believe that, embittered with her lost dreams and abandoned by her partner, Diane pays the blonde unkempt hitman to murder the brunette. This is I believe is indicated by the fact that it is Diane's telephone that the hitman calls Diane's phone to confirm the hit. He also says he will leave a sign when he has completed the assignment, and holds up a blue key, which later appears on Diane's coffee table.

Now the rest of the film is in fact the twisted surreal dream that Diane has during her guilt crazed masterbating breakdown.

Elements of the actual story permeate into Diane's fantasy such as the hit, except in her dream the hit goes wrong and the brunette escapes, exonerating Diane of her guilt. Meanwhile Diane is successful and talented and happy instead of burntout tired and rejected.

The blue key, the symbol of her crime turns up again as the distorted triangular key to the box. Once Diane opens the box with the key, she must once again face her horrible reality, since the dream is broken and the truth is contained within the mysterious box. Also the homeless demon man, strikes me as a physical manifestation of Diane's sin, and it is he who unleashes the veangeful old couple upon her. I haven't seen this movie for a while, and have done my best to forget it because I find it far too obscure and smugly surreal, I feel a better film maker could have worked the themes into a more palatable, plausible and satisfying story and more effectively too.

Of course, some would say it's Lynch taking a stab at the absurd contrived artificial nature of Hollywood, and that's all well and good, but I still think it's a cop out to use the garish metaphors and symbolism afforded one by a surreal dream to drive home a point with little panache and hell of a lot of clever plot devices, which in the end left me unsatisfied.

I've left a lot of things out that I remember, simply because to discuss them would take a long time, and I think Lynch has taken up enough of mine for now.

Moobie

Wow that's an impressive read of Mulholland Dr. I feel your pain with David Lynch. I too reserve this movie a place in hell. Right next to another of my all time worst movie experiances, Mulholland Falls. *shivers*


I have since decided to never watch another movie with the word Mulholland in it ever again.

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Latch

This Link is an excellent set of pages that describe it all... or as much as it can be.

I liked the movie.. of course.. I like David Lynch movies in general. Also, Angelo Balademitri's (sp?) music is great.

monkeydriven

I think it's a brilliant movie and you should check out the link Latch attached above....alot is explained there.

I thank the movie for introducing me to the beauty of Naomi Watts. She is an intelligent actress that seems to take good roles (Le Divorce, The Ring, 21 Grams). I hold out hope for her right now. Hopefully we don't see he pair up with Ben Affleck or Sandra Bullock....

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Spartak

It's a pretty outstanding film In my opinion, I now enjoy it even more since reading up on it. It's a pretty audacious concept that Lynch pulled off pretty much perfectly.

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sadatx

You have a pretty good hold on most of the film, but I have to take issue with this point.


Remember the very first few minutes of the movei with the couples dancing?

See, Diane wins a jitterbug competition and moves to Hollywood to become an actress (the old couple are her dissaproving parents). That's the backstory.

Then it cuts to a POV shot of someone falling face first onto a bed. THIS IS DIANE, right after she's shot herself as she's falling into her pillow (remember the dead body the women find in the house they break into?).

The main chunk of the movie that comes right after this short one second scene is the dream Diane has at the moment of her death. Sort of like her life flashing before her eyes, except it's her life the way she would have wanted it to turn out (in Diane's dream her lover escapes the hit and ends up naked in Diane's bed unable to remember anything and totally dependent on Diane, just as she would want it to happen).

The last part of the movie (that most people don't like) chronicles the actual events leading up to Diane ordering the hit and then shooting herself.

Personally I love the movie. I guess it all depends if you like Lynch or not. There are a few loose ends, but it was going to be a TV series so those loose ends can be forgiven.

CSflim

Damn lack of search! There was a pretty good thread on this before, where a made a pretty long post. I'm not about to go retype it! grrrrr!

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Amethyst

Thanks for your interpretation of the movie Kostya you pretty much sumed it up for me. I still don't think that I would ever see or recommend this movie to anyone. The link that was provided was very helpful to thanks everyone!

teshadoh

My view on films is this - I don't care if I understand EVERYthing. If the movie confuses me, pisses me off, aggravates me - it must have done something right. I like David Lynch, still prefer Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, & Twin Peaks series - but Mullholland Drive is a quite awesome little flick.

Oh who am I kidding? I liked it because Namoi Watts was naked & made out with a hot chick, not once but twice! Whoo Hoo! :-)

CSflim

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Jadedfox

This movie is in my top 5. I love every minute of it BUT...you have to keep in mind that it wasn't supposed to be a movie at all. It was supposed to be a TV-Series so if some of the stuff seem odd (well they should, it's Lynch after all) or perhaps just thrown in there, it's probably because he was scrambling to make it all fit.

Nevertheless, a great movie and it beats all the hollywood crap that comes out on a regular basis.

--jaded

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DownwardSpiral

I hated this movie, I thought it to be a piece of crap. Don't hate it because it was weird. I generally like weird movies. I just think it sucked, the only good thing about it was Naomi Watts, considering she's a good actress and all, but thats all it had going for it, in my opinion.

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