Printer-friendly copy Email this topic to a friend
Lobby Pass The Popcorn Pass The Popcorn Archives topic #17691

Subject: "Mulholland Drive" This topic is locked.
Previous topic | Next topic
Brass_Tacts

Fri Oct-12-01 09:39 PM

  
"Mulholland Drive"


          

I just got back from the newest David Lynch fiasco to be put on film. A-Mazing. I really cannot explain much about it, not only because I do not want to ruin it, but because there really is not much to explain. I will do my best.

The plot revolves around several characters and their adventures in a nightmarish paralell of Hollywood. A woman gets amnesia after a car crash and meets up with a naive woman from Canada who wants to be an actress. There is also a story about a director who has his project taken over by the studio and they are forcing him to cast a certain woman as his lead actress. That is about all I can tell you all.

There is so much to this movie. David Lynch bites the Hollywood hand that feeds him like no one else I have ever seen. When I think of cynical Hollywood movies I think of The Player and State and Main. THis takes this reflexive nature to a brand new level. Lynch goes in deep to see what the power of that mysterious place is capable of. Lost Highway began this idea, but he mixes in the "under the surface" theme of Twin Peaks and especially Blue Velvet in with the surrealism and confused time of Lost Highway to create his greatest achievement since Blue Velvet in 1986. This movie is amazing. I highly recomend it. I will see how well it holds up against The Man WHo Wasn't There when I see it tomorrow night at the Denver Film Festival.

peace.

tact./


Current top movies of 2001:
1. Mulholland Drive.
2. Sexy Beast
3. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
4. Memento
5. Shrek
6. The Deep End
7. Apocalypse Now Redux
8. Ghost World

Soon to be classic
The Royal Tanenbaums
Waking Life
Storytelling
The Fellowship of the Ring
Ali


  

Printer-friendly copy | Top


Topic Outline
Subject Author Message Date ID
cool...
Oct 13th 2001
1
i'm gonna go this week
Oct 13th 2001
2
run while you still can!
Oct 15th 2001
4
fun.
Oct 15th 2001
3
RE: fun.
Brass_Tacts
Oct 15th 2001
5
      i loved this movie
Oct 21st 2001
6
           DVD
Brass_Tacts
Oct 21st 2001
8
                true...
Oct 21st 2001
9
                     angelo and carter
Brass_Tacts
Oct 21st 2001
11
RE: Mulholland Drive
SupertoysLast
Oct 21st 2001
7
this will be
Oct 21st 2001
10
Favorite Scenes from MD?
SupertoysLast
Oct 21st 2001
12
all of those and
Oct 22nd 2001
13
my favs
Oct 22nd 2001
14
comments
Oct 22nd 2001
15
answers
Oct 29th 2001
27
*ahem*
Oct 22nd 2001
16
Small to big screen.
Oct 23rd 2001
17
RE: Small to big screen.
Oct 24th 2001
18
      very good analysis
Oct 25th 2001
19
Whoa
Oct 25th 2001
20
silencio
Oct 25th 2001
21
RE: silencio
Brass_Tacts
Oct 26th 2001
22
RE: silencio
BelishaBeacon
Oct 26th 2001
24
      damn
Oct 27th 2001
25
RE: Mulholland Drive
Oct 26th 2001
23
RE: Mulholland Drive
DreKing
Oct 29th 2001
26
plebian- dismiss him...
Oct 29th 2001
28
and the oscar goes to...
Oct 29th 2001
29

SankofaII
Charter member
30751 posts
Sat Oct-13-01 05:42 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
1. "cool..."
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

it opens next week out here...man, i cant wait. the trailer is off the hook..

the man who wasnt there? post a review when you see it cause it wont be comingout here until november sometime.

im looking forward to seeing:
Waking Life
The Man Who Wasnt There
Mullholland Drive
Heaven (new series by krystoff kieslowski--written before he died in the mid 90's Cate Blanchett is starring..im HOPING ill be moved to NYC early december to see it..if not ill catch it when it opens in March 2002)
Lord Of The Rings
Charlotte Gray
The Shipping News
Ocean's Eleven
Pinero
Riding In Cars With Boys
Punks

im sure there are others but these are the ones im looking forward too this fall/winter 2001.
RC



I hear voices and i can't stand to be alone
'Cause emptiness is all I've ever known
Soiled by my lust I feel no shame
No longer forsaken
when they call my name
No one is faithful
I am weak
I go astray
Forgive me for my ways
- FROM "FAITHFUL"

"Are you free?"

Get Out the Room
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

Some of y'all need this in your life: http://www.psychology.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

Hot_Damali
Charter member
8959 posts
Sat Oct-13-01 11:37 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
2. "i'm gonna go this week"
In response to Reply # 0


          

i've been obsessed with movies lately...this is turning into an addiction...an expensive one..lol

d


"The point of art is not to create reality, but verity." - Catherine Breillat

Underground Railroad w/Jay Smooth
Sat 12-2am WBAI 99.5FM in NY
Pierce Your Ears.

9/11/01 The day the whole world changed...i will never forget...

BAN CENSORSHIP!!!!

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
REDeye
Charter member
6598 posts
Mon Oct-15-01 09:41 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
4. "run while you still can!"
In response to Reply # 2


          

>i've been obsessed with movies lately...this
>is turning into an addiction...an
>expensive one..lol

It's too late for me, but save yourself.

RED
"Oooh! A fresh batch of America Balls!" © Homer

RED
http://arrena.blogspot.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

fats
Charter member
2470 posts
Mon Oct-15-01 09:34 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
3. "fun."
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

it was a fun movie to watch. i about pissed myself laughing at the end.

but there's a pretty big debate as to whether it's really meaningful or just a spectacle. first, the narrative purposefully implodes after about 90 minutes, and is interpeted as a dream by most. and then on top of that, it was originally a pilot for abc and then re-edited with another hour of new footage to make this. so that makes it easy to say the structure is not calculated or even just sloppy. but a lot of people claim it as a masterpiece.

i'm not sure where i stand. it's definitely a fun experience, and i appreciate that it isn't narratively satisfying. but i think it could have been better if the side-characters had been shown more. especially dan hedaya.

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
Brass_Tacts

Mon Oct-15-01 12:33 PM

  
5. "RE: fun."
In response to Reply # 3


          

Thats interesting, because I thought it was totally seamless. I never felt like the beginning did not fit in with the second half of the film. I dont think it is a dream, and maybe I can explain how I see the end of the film, but I definetely do not see it as a dream. The only way it could be construed as a little bit choppy is that it has recognizable actors (Dan Hedaya, Robert Forester, and Billy Ray Cyrus) for one or two scenes and that is it. I thought the narrative flowed really nicely. I do agree it was a lot of fun, but I also thought it was quite deep as a reflection on Lynch's own opinions of how Hollywood unapologetically swallows people up. Anyway, I loved it.

tact./

Current top movies of 2001:
1. Mulholland Drive.
2. The Man Who Wasn't There
3. Sexy Beast
4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
5. Memento
6. Shrek
7. The Deep End
8. Apocalypse Now Redux
9. Ghost World

Soon to be classic
The Royal Tanenbaums
Waking Life
Storytelling
The Fellowship of the Ring
Ali
Ocean's Eleven

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

        
SankofaII
Charter member
30751 posts
Sun Oct-21-01 05:14 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
6. "i loved this movie"
In response to Reply # 5


  

          

i saw it yesterday and it is very good...among david lynch's best i think...

the movie..it seemed all over the place but it really wasnt at all. the ending: it made sense once you realized how related ALL of the characters were with each other.

the whole assuming fake names (Camilla/"Rita", etc.) was genius to me...it seemed so minor in the beginning but when the second half unfolded it made much sense.


a LOT of people were pissed offafter they saw the movie..i dont know why.

but it's a good movie though....i will have to get the DVD when it comes out--im curious to hear lynch's views on how he constructed the script, etc.

Ryan




Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
--Oscar Wilde

They strike one, above all, as giving no account of themselves in any terms already consecrated by human use; to this inarticulate state they probably form, collectively, the most unprecedented of monuments; abysmal the mystery of what they think, what they feel, what they want, what they suppose themselves to be saying.
--Henry James


Get Out the Room
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

Some of y'all need this in your life: http://www.psychology.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

            
Brass_Tacts

Sun Oct-21-01 07:05 AM

  
8. "DVD"
In response to Reply # 6


          

I will have to get the DVD too, but I would be surprised to find any Lynch commentary on the disc. He never really explains any of his movies, or if he does it is only in the vaguest ways possible. Plus I would rather hear commentary by the cinematographer, Angelo Badalamenti (music) and the production designer talk about what they did. To me, thats more interesting than Lynch telling me what his movie is about.

tact.


Current top movies of 2001:
1. Mulholland Drive.
2. The Man Who Wasn't There
3. Sexy Beast
4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
5. Memento
6. Shrek
7. The Deep End
8. Apocalypse Now Redux
9. Ghost World

Soon to be classic
The Royal Tanenbaums
Waking Life
Storytelling
The Fellowship of the Ring
Ali
Ocean's Eleven

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

                
SankofaII
Charter member
30751 posts
Sun Oct-21-01 08:01 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
9. "true..."
In response to Reply # 8


  

          

>I will have to get the
>DVD too, but I would
>be surprised to find any
>Lynch commentary on the disc.
>He never really explains any
>of his movies, or if
>he does it is only
>in the vaguest ways possible.
>Plus I would rather hear
>commentary by the cinematographer, Angelo
>Badalamenti (music) and the production
>designer talk about what they
>did. To me, thats more
>interesting than Lynch telling me
>what his movie is about.
agreed...i LOVE angelo badalamenti--i swear he does the BEST scores...Carter Burwell (does a lot of the coen brothers films) is a close second..EFF a john williams! (though howard shore is hot too) and i wouldnt mind how the production designer came up with the lookof the film...MULHOLLAND DRIVE IS THE SHIT!
Ryan
>
>
>Current top movies of 2001:
>1. Mulholland Drive.
>2. The Man Who Wasn't There
>
>3. Sexy Beast
>4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
>
>5. Memento
>6. Shrek
>7. The Deep End
>8. Apocalypse Now Redux
>9. Ghost World
>
>Soon to be classic
>The Royal Tanenbaums
>Waking Life
>Storytelling
>The Fellowship of the Ring
>Ali
>Ocean's Eleven


Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
--Oscar Wilde

They strike one, above all, as giving no account of themselves in any terms already consecrated by human use; to this inarticulate state they probably form, collectively, the most unprecedented of monuments; abysmal the mystery of what they think, what they feel, what they want, what they suppose themselves to be saying.
--Henry James


Get Out the Room
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

Some of y'all need this in your life: http://www.psychology.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

                    
Brass_Tacts

Sun Oct-21-01 05:04 PM

  
11. "angelo and carter"
In response to Reply # 9


          

plus cliff martinez are the best out there. cliff does the soderbergh movies. carter out did himself with The Man WHo Wasn't There. trust me. his best since Fargo. Angelo hit a peak with Lost Highway. Not my favorite Lynch movie, but my favorite soundtrack, minus marilyn manson and all that other dumb shit.

tact


Current top movies of 2001:
1. Mulholland Drive.
2. The Man Who Wasn't There
3. Sexy Beast
4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
5. Memento
6. Waking Life
7. Shrek
8. The Deep End
9. Apocalypse Now Redux
10. Ghost World

Soon to be classic
The Royal Tanenbaums
Storytelling
The Fellowship of the Ring
Ali
Ocean's Eleven

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

SupertoysLast

Sun Oct-21-01 07:05 AM

  
7. "RE: Mulholland Drive"
In response to Reply # 0


          

Mulholland Drive -

What can I say? It's an amazingly brilliant mind-fuck from beginning to end. I saw the film last night and I'm still utterly confused. With every new development I looked at my friend and said, "What the fuck?" I've never seen a film quite like Mulholland Drive. I was thoroughly disturbed by this film, and I absolutely LOVED IT! Ah! You don't truly appreciate all the subtleties of this film until you discuss it afterwards. The script is very well written. There are moments of suspense, comedy, drama, and horror. God, it's a beautiful film!

See it, love it, thank me.

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
SankofaII
Charter member
30751 posts
Sun Oct-21-01 08:03 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
10. "this will be"
In response to Reply # 7


  

          

on all the ten best movies of 2001 lists watch whati tell you!
Ryan



Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
--Oscar Wilde

They strike one, above all, as giving no account of themselves in any terms already consecrated by human use; to this inarticulate state they probably form, collectively, the most unprecedented of monuments; abysmal the mystery of what they think, what they feel, what they want, what they suppose themselves to be saying.
--Henry James


Get Out the Room
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

Some of y'all need this in your life: http://www.psychology.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

SupertoysLast

Sun Oct-21-01 05:52 PM

  
12. "Favorite Scenes from MD?"
In response to Reply # 0


          

In no particular order =>

1. The nightclub scene with the Spanish rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying".

2. The lesbian scene with Betty and Rita.

3. Betty's audition with the older gentleman (what a wonderful performance)!


  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
SankofaII
Charter member
30751 posts
Mon Oct-22-01 01:16 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
13. "all of those and"
In response to Reply # 12


  

          

>In no particular order =>
>
>1. The nightclub scene with the
>Spanish rendition of Roy Orbison's
>"Crying".
>
>2. The lesbian scene with Betty
>and Rita.
>
>3. Betty's audition with the older
>gentleman (what a wonderful performance)!
>
the ending with betty/diane and the old folks
the beginning where the guy was freaked out by the ugly man behing the corner (CLASSIC SCENES--especially dude fell cold the fuck out! )
the first trek to diane selwyn's house..laura elena harring WORE those couple scenes OUT!
the second half of the movie--ALL OFIT!
Ryan


Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
--Oscar Wilde

They strike one, above all, as giving no account of themselves in any terms already consecrated by human use; to this inarticulate state they probably form, collectively, the most unprecedented of monuments; abysmal the mystery of what they think, what they feel, what they want, what they suppose themselves to be saying.
--Henry James


Get Out the Room
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

Some of y'all need this in your life: http://www.psychology.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
thebigfunk
Charter member
10457 posts
Mon Oct-22-01 03:34 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
14. "my favs"
In response to Reply # 12


          

I loved loved loved the main Silencio scene...

I thought the opening was priceless... it got me so tense, because you know there's gonna be a crash... Lynch *wants* you to know, you just don't want it to happen

Finally, I thought the tension with them breaking into Diane Selwyn's house was perfect... with the neighbor walking over, and then them fumbling through the dark.

Great movie...

-thebigfunk
Six on the Player:
Bullfrog: Bullfrog
Femi Kuti: Fight To Win
John Cage: In a Landscape
Christopher Williams: Side Streets Live
Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet
Erin Mckeown: Distillation

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

fatlip
Charter member
1954 posts
Mon Oct-22-01 05:09 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
15. "comments"
In response to Reply # 0


          

lynch's settings (interiors of homes) are characters in themselves in every film.

if i saw another camera creeping around a corner i was going to laugh. corny.

the roy orbison joint was interesting....

two questions for those who saw.

-what does the blue box mean to you?

-what was ol' girl meaning when she said "i know what you have to do, let me do it for you"?....just another connection of the characters?

i felt lynch went through ALOT of stylistics to get across a very simple idea in this movie. so if you like his style, the movie is "great" (i like his style). but otherwise, he's going through alot just to comment on what LA can do to a naive/aspiring entertainer.








silencio.


  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
cbk
Charter member
4535 posts
Mon Oct-29-01 11:19 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
27. "answers"
In response to Reply # 15


          


>-what does the blue box mean
>to you?

definitely a sexual connotation. guys get "blue balls", diane got a "blue box". camila (sp) did her wrong in the "reality" sequence at the end.

also, it served as a symbolic item for death and/or the ending of a narrative chapter. rita went into the box, and after she (camila) was killed the homeless man was holding it.

>
>-what was ol' girl meaning when
>she said "i know what
>you have to do, let
>me do it for you"?....just
>another connection of the characters?
>

i can't remember...

Happy 50th D’Angelo: https://chrisp.bandcamp.com/track/d-50

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

fatlip
Charter member
1954 posts
Mon Oct-22-01 10:23 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
16. "*ahem*"
In response to Reply # 0


          

.


  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

WindowFascist
Charter member
51 posts
Tue Oct-23-01 04:09 PM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
17. "Small to big screen."
In response to Reply # 0


          

Mulholland Drive was great. One of Lynch's best by far. It is a more accomplished "dream noir" than Lost Highway, in my opinion. It was a pilot for a new series on ABC, but the executives saw it and dropped it. Lynch decided to go back about a year later and expand on it, turning into a feature film. Good thing he did.


WindowFascist

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
the root
Charter member
1380 posts
Wed Oct-24-01 07:40 PM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
18. "RE: Small to big screen."
In response to Reply # 17


  

          

If I had watched it myself I would have left dejected, mumbling to myself that I was too "thick" to appreciate what the fuck Lynch had just dropped on me. Thankfully, in the delicious post-film discussion my friends began piecing it all together for me and this is the highly fragile understanding I have of the narrative thus far.

Courtesy of my friends Nick Cvercko and Crystal House

Ok, here is what I (allegedly) figured out about the movie Mullholland Dr. by David Lynch. I will be the first to admit that the major idea of fantasy/reality didn’t come completely from myself. I was getting there but had much assistance from a friend of a friend. I will break it down into a character-by-character basis at this point as it is the easiest way to understand it in one sitting. First, there are two major parts of the movie, the first part is a fantasy world. The second part is reality. I will start with the characters in the reality portion, as again, it is easier to understand this way

REALITY----------------------------------------------------------

Diane – Is the main character in the whole movie. It is her life that is unfolding before our eyes. She is a failed actress who is madly in love with a successful one (Camille). Camille isn’t in love with Diane but seems to be in this thing for occasional sex. Diane imagines a different life, one where she is named Betty which is a name that she randomly gets from a waitresses name tag. She imagines herself in a world where all of the things actually work as she sees they should or do work. She decides to have Camille killed when she doesn’t have her way (which is when she launches into her fantasy at the sight of the name “Betty”) At the end, she kills herself when she realizes that not only is her fantasy so very far from the truth, but that she killed the one person that she cares for in the world.

Camille- Is a successful actress who decided to have a little fun with this failed actress. Doesn’t have any emotional attachment to Betty instead falls in love with the director of her film. While Betty is on the set one day, Camille’s and the Directors feelings for each other come into plain view. Betty flips out in a jealous rage and causes quite a scene on her set (no pun intended). To save face around her associates, she invites betty to a cast party and pretends like there is nothing wrong between them and that nothing at all is going on between them. There she announces her engagement to the director. A hit man tries to kill her in the opening scenes of this movie but teenagers racing their cars do it instead.

The Director- Simply picks Camille instead of Diane for a part, launching Camille’s career. He is a general figure to which Diane focuses her resentment.

Hit man – Just some schmoe that Diane finds and pays to knock Camille off. Tells her that when the job is done, he will place a blue key where he can find it.

Blond Actress (who’s name escapes me) – This is the personification of jealousy or betrayal in Diane’s mind. She kisses Camille just as Diane feels most violated. Right when Diane feels most violated, when Camille announces her engagement to the director, the actress comes up and kisses Camille further enraging Diane. She is one of a few characters that I don’t consider characters as much as symbols for turning points.

Cowboy – I listed the Cowboy last because he is one of the few characters that transcends the Reality/Fantasy boundary with no visible change. This is because I’m actually disregarding him as a character and making him more a visible symbol. In the Fantasy World, he talks to the Director about choosing the other blonde actress for the part. He says something about how attitude depicts the outcome of life. He becomes this philosophy personified. When he wakes Diane up, he is basically slapping her and telling her to snap out of it. He is telling her that this reality is her fault caused by her negative attitude and that no fantasy is going to change that. He also tells the Director earlier on that he will show up once if he did the right thing. He then walks casually through the party where Camille and him announce their wedding plans. When he shows up this one time, he is not so much saying that what was done was right in the right/wrong sense of the word, he is saying that the actions taking place are right as in true. This is what happens when she approaches life with the attitude she has. These are her consequences.

Ok, from here, we must go back to the beginning of the movie where the fantasy starts.

FANTASY----------------------------------------------------------

Betty – Is Diane as she sees herself in her fantasy; an innocent, talented actress who loves the woman in her life dearly and is loved back. She decides to help this person out and when this happens the romance is started. Later on, they attend a theater in the middle of the night that strongly forces the thought that this whole world is fake. During this performance, her fantasy is drawing to an end and she starts to realize it as she cries and goes into minor convulsions.
Rita - This is Camille as Diane wishes she were. She gets in a car accident, which was actually her assassination attempt that she didn’t survive. In the fantasy though, she not only survives but forgets everything from her past life, most importantly she forgets about Hollywood and everyone else that Diane thinks that took her away from her. She only knows about her new found friendship with Betty that quickly turns into love.

Diane – Ok, here’s the tricky part. In the fantasy, Rita sees a waitress while on a search for a clue of her former life. The waitress is wearing a name tag that says “Diane”, this is not the Diane that we are talking about here. But just as the name “Betty” gets the Diane in the real life fantasizing about how things could have been, the name “Diane” lets Rita
Remember a name from her life…the real life. Then, when they track down this Diane and go into her apartment, they find a body that obviously died of a drug overdose some time ago. They are both shocked but Rita just flips out. This is Diane being bitter and suicidal in her fantasy. This body is the real Diane. She kills herself and Rita is heartbroken. This is Diane’s way of saying “when I’ll be gone, she’ll be sorry!!!” And if you remember, when the cowboy wakes Diane up from her fantasy showing her the real world, she is in exactly the same pose in the same apartment as the dead body. Yes it’s confusing but very keen.

The Director – This is one of the only characters that is essentially the same in the fantasy as he is in reality, the only difference is the people around him and how they affect his actions. He is the director of a new picture. He wants it his way but the big wigs tell him that it will go theirs, guess who wins. He sees Betty while auditioning for the main women for his new movie, he instantly likes what he sees but his hands are tied.

The Mysterious Midget Producer guy in the suit – This is the invisible somebody that gets in Betty’s way. She sees herself as a wonderful actress as shown by the audition in her fantasy. Obviously, the only reason that she wouldn’t get the part that she wants is that someone has unfairly cut past the audition process and pushed his favorite actress into the spot. This, to Diane, is the only reason that she is not successful, it’s not her fault, it’s “the system”.

The Blonde Actress who’s name still escapes me – Once again, she represents jealousy in Diane’s life. When Betty goes to the audition, she catches the eye of the director right after a stellar audition a few minutes earlier. But because the director was told by “the system” that he had to cast this other girl, Betty gets nothing.

The Creepy Neighbor lady who comes to Betty’s door – Unfortunately, this one eluded me. All I really see her as is a symbol for trouble coming into the relationship or trouble in Rita’s life that comes between them eventually. But for the most part, I think she just moved to plot along and gave it some danger.

The old people who turn out to be really creepy - These are the people who at the beginning of the movie say their goodbyes to Betty and send her on their merry way. They are overly happy but this doesn’t really matter. What matters is when they come back during the real world as tiny, scary versions of themselves. They are basically showing Diane that she is delusional, that she made her bed and has to lye in it. They symbolize her fantasy coming back and haunting her, showing her how it could have been until she fucked it up. This drives her to suicide.
The really really creepy dark character - This person is closely related to the box that he sometimes holds. He shows up whenever fantasy and reality suddenly switch positions. His appearance at the beginning of the movie was simply an explanation for who he is and what he represents.

Assassin – This is the same person in reality as in fantasy. His appearance in the fantasy is a short one but shows Diane’s rationalization. She dreams up this little slapstick filled scenario looking down on the assassin, showing his light attitude towards killing. This justifies her use of her services in her mind seeing as though so many have died by his senseless killings anyway. Eventually though he delivers the key to her, the key represents guilt for her actions.

So you see, when at the end of the fantasy, Betty starts to realize that she is Diane and that nothing around her is real, this box appears in her purse. When this box is opened with the blue key, the same blue key that the assassin leaves for her when he completes his job. This key is a symbol for Diane’s guilt. When it appears in the fantasy world, it ends it. This is her realizing what she has done to her only love and this kills her fantasy, letting everything get sucked up into the box. When she sees it in her apartment, she also realizes what she has done to her love and instead kills herself.

Well, that’s it… I think. I might have left something or somebody important out but I think that this brings the movie together pretty well. I’m open to suggestions and or questions. Later on.


"The task of philosophy is learning how to die." - Socrates

"If you live day to day then you probably live life more than a cat who got a Benz bankroll and a wife cuz yo I've seen a lot of folks who's so called success = depressed and look up to broke peeps who hold the mik now." -Evidence

"Socialism...let's hear that dirty word."-Jay Bulworth

the imperfect is our paradise - wallace stevens

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

        
SankofaII
Charter member
30751 posts
Thu Oct-25-01 01:16 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
19. "very good analysis"
In response to Reply # 18


  

          

the movie is deep..but what's funny is that lynch always says that people shouldnt have any trouble understanding his movies...well when i saw it last weekend, folk were pissed off BECAUSE they couldnt get it. a lot of what you said i was thinking about when i watched the movie....so you are dead on in a lot of respects.

but mulholland drive is the shit..it will definitely be on my top ten films list of 2001 for real...
Ryan




>If I had watched it myself
>I would have left dejected,
>mumbling to myself that I
>was too "thick" to appreciate
>what the fuck Lynch had
>just dropped on me.
>Thankfully, in the delicious post-film
>discussion my friends began piecing
>it all together for me
>and this is the highly
>fragile understanding I have of
>the narrative thus far.
>
>Courtesy of my friends Nick Cvercko
>and Crystal House
>
>Ok, here is what I (allegedly)
>figured out about the movie
>Mullholland Dr. by David Lynch.
>I will be the first
>to admit that the major
>idea of fantasy/reality didn’t come
>completely from myself. I was
>getting there but had much
>assistance from a friend of
>a friend. I will break
>it down into a character-by-character
>basis at this point as
>it is the easiest way
>to understand it in one
>sitting. First, there are two
>major parts of the movie,
>the first part is a
>fantasy world. The second part
>is reality. I will start
>with the characters in the
>reality portion, as again, it
>is easier to understand this
>way
>
>REALITY----------------------------------------------------------
>
>Diane – Is the main character
>in the whole movie. It
>is her life that is
>unfolding before our eyes. She
>is a failed actress who
>is madly in love with
>a successful one (Camille). Camille
>isn’t in love with Diane
>but seems to be in
>this thing for occasional sex.
>Diane imagines a different life,
>one where she is named
>Betty which is a name
>that she randomly gets from
>a waitresses name tag. She
>imagines herself in a world
>where all of the things
>actually work as she sees
>they should or do work.
>She decides to have Camille
>killed when she doesn’t have
>her way (which is when
>she launches into her fantasy
>at the sight of the
>name “Betty”) At the end,
>she kills herself when she
>realizes that not only is
>her fantasy so very far
>from the truth, but that
>she killed the one person
>that she cares for in
>the world.
>
>Camille- Is a successful actress who
>decided to have a little
>fun with this failed actress.
>Doesn’t have any emotional attachment
>to Betty instead falls in
>love with the director of
>her film. While Betty is
>on the set one day,
>Camille’s and the Directors feelings
>for each other come into
>plain view. Betty flips out
>in a jealous rage and
>causes quite a scene on
>her set (no pun intended).
>To save face around her
>associates, she invites betty
>to a cast party and
>pretends like there is nothing
>wrong between them and that
>nothing at all is going
>on between them. There she
>announces her engagement to the
>director. A hit man tries
>to kill her in the
>opening scenes of this movie
>but teenagers racing their cars
>do it instead.
>
>The Director- Simply picks Camille instead
>of Diane for a part,
>launching Camille’s career. He is
>a general figure to which
>Diane focuses her resentment.
>
>Hit man – Just some
>schmoe that Diane finds and
>pays to knock Camille off.
>Tells her that when the
>job is done, he will
>place a blue key where
>he can find it.
>
>Blond Actress (who’s name escapes me)
>– This is the personification
>of jealousy or betrayal in
>Diane’s mind. She kisses Camille
>just as Diane feels most
>violated. Right when Diane feels
>most violated, when Camille announces
>her engagement to the director,
>the actress comes up and
>kisses Camille further enraging Diane.
>She is one of a
>few characters that I don’t
>consider characters as much as
>symbols for turning points.
>
>Cowboy – I listed the Cowboy
>last because he is one
>of the few characters that
>transcends the Reality/Fantasy boundary with
>no visible change. This is
>because I’m actually disregarding him
>as a character and making
>him more a visible symbol.
>In the Fantasy World, he
>talks to the Director about
>choosing the other blonde actress
>for the part. He says
>something about how attitude depicts
>the outcome of life. He
>becomes this philosophy personified. When
>he wakes Diane up, he
>is basically slapping her and
>telling her to snap out
>of it. He is telling
>her that this reality is
>her fault caused by her
>negative attitude and that no
>fantasy is going to change
>that. He also tells the
>Director earlier on that he
>will show up once if
>he did the right thing.
>He then walks casually through
>the party where Camille and
>him announce their wedding plans.
>When he shows up this
>one time, he is not
>so much saying that what
>was done was right in
>the right/wrong sense of the
>word, he is saying that
>the actions taking place are
>right as in true. This
>is what happens when she
>approaches life with the attitude
>she has. These are her
>consequences.
>
>Ok, from here, we must go
>back to the beginning of
>the movie where the fantasy
>starts.
>
>FANTASY----------------------------------------------------------
>
>Betty – Is Diane as she
>sees herself in her fantasy;
>an innocent, talented actress who
>loves the woman in her
>life dearly and is loved
>back. She decides to help
>this person out and when
>this happens the romance is
>started. Later on, they attend
>a theater in the middle
>of the night that strongly
>forces the thought that this
>whole world is fake. During
>this performance, her fantasy is
>drawing to an end and
>she starts to realize it
>as she cries and goes
>into minor convulsions.
>Rita - This is Camille as
>Diane wishes she were. She
>gets in a car accident,
>which was actually her assassination
>attempt that she didn’t survive.
>In the fantasy though, she
>not only survives but forgets
>everything from her past life,
>most importantly she forgets about
>Hollywood and everyone else that
>Diane thinks that took her
>away from her. She only
>knows about her new found
>friendship with Betty that quickly
>turns into love.
>
>Diane – Ok, here’s the tricky
>part. In the fantasy, Rita
>sees a waitress while on
>a search for a clue
>of her former life. The
>waitress is wearing a name
>tag that says “Diane”, this
>is not the Diane that
>we are talking about here.
>But just as the name
>“Betty” gets the Diane in
>the real life fantasizing about
>how things could have been,
>the name “Diane” lets
>Rita
>Remember a name from her life…the
>real life. Then, when they
>track down this Diane and
>go into her apartment, they
>find a body that obviously
>died of a drug overdose
>some time ago. They are
>both shocked but Rita just
>flips out. This is Diane
>being bitter and suicidal in
>her fantasy. This body is
>the real Diane. She kills
>herself and Rita is heartbroken.
>This is Diane’s way of
>saying “when I’ll be gone,
>she’ll be sorry!!!” And if
>you remember, when the cowboy
>wakes Diane up from her
>fantasy showing her the real
>world, she is in exactly
>the same pose in the
>same apartment as the dead
>body. Yes it’s confusing but
>very keen.
>
>The Director – This is one
>of the only characters that
>is essentially the same in
>the fantasy as he is
>in reality, the only difference
>is the people around him
>and how they affect his
>actions. He is the director
>of a new picture. He
>wants it his way but
>the big wigs tell him
>that it will go theirs,
>guess who wins. He sees
>Betty while auditioning for the
>main women for his new
>movie, he instantly likes what
>he sees but his hands
>are tied.
>
>The Mysterious Midget Producer guy in
>the suit – This is
>the invisible somebody that gets
>in Betty’s way. She sees
>herself as a wonderful actress
>as shown by the audition
>in her fantasy. Obviously, the
>only reason that she wouldn’t
>get the part that she
>wants is that someone has
>unfairly cut past the audition
>process and pushed his favorite
>actress into the spot. This,
>to Diane, is the only
>reason that she is not
>successful, it’s not her fault,
>it’s “the system”.
>
>The Blonde Actress who’s name still
>escapes me – Once again,
>she represents jealousy in Diane’s
>life. When Betty goes to
>the audition, she catches the
>eye of the director right
>after a stellar audition
>a few minutes earlier. But
>because the director was told
>by “the system” that he
>had to cast this other
>girl, Betty gets nothing.
>
>The Creepy Neighbor lady who comes
>to Betty’s door – Unfortunately,
>this one eluded me. All
>I really see her as
>is a symbol for trouble
>coming into the relationship or
>trouble in Rita’s life that
>comes between them eventually. But
>for the most part, I
>think she just moved to
>plot along and gave it
>some danger.
>
>The old people who turn out
>to be really creepy -
>These are the people who
>at the beginning of the
>movie say their goodbyes to
>Betty and send her on
>their merry way. They are
>overly happy but this doesn’t
>really matter. What matters is
>when they come back during
>the real world as tiny,
>scary versions of themselves. They
>are basically showing Diane that
>she is delusional, that she
>made her bed and has
>to lye in it. They
>symbolize her fantasy coming back
>and haunting her, showing her
>how it could have been
>until she fucked it up.
>This drives her to suicide.
>
>The really really creepy dark character
> - This person is
>closely related to the box
>that he sometimes holds. He
>shows up whenever fantasy and
>reality suddenly switch positions. His
>appearance at the beginning of
>the movie was simply an
>explanation for who he is
>and what he represents.
>
>Assassin – This is the same
>person in reality as in
>fantasy. His appearance in the
>fantasy is a short one
>but shows Diane’s rationalization. She
>dreams up this little slapstick
>filled scenario looking down on
>the assassin, showing his light
>attitude towards killing. This justifies
>her use of her services
>in her mind seeing as
>though so many have died
>by his senseless killings anyway.
>Eventually though he delivers the
>key to her, the key
>represents guilt for her actions.
>
>
>So you see, when at the
>end of the fantasy, Betty
>starts to realize that she
>is Diane and that nothing
>around her is real, this
>box appears in her purse.
>When this box is opened
>with the blue key, the
>same blue key that the
>assassin leaves for her when
>he completes his job. This
>key is a symbol for
>Diane’s guilt. When it appears
>in the fantasy world, it
>ends it. This is her
>realizing what she has done
>to her only love and
>this kills her fantasy, letting
>everything get sucked up into
>the box. When she sees
>it in her apartment, she
>also realizes what she has
>done to her love and
>instead kills herself.
>
> Well, that’s it… I think.
>I might have left something
>or somebody important out but
>I think that this brings
>the movie together pretty well.
>I’m open to suggestions and
>or questions. Later on.
>
>
>"The task of philosophy is learning
>how to die." - Socrates
>
>
>"If you live day to day
>then you probably live life
>more than a cat who
>got a Benz bankroll and
>a wife cuz yo I've
>seen a lot of folks
>who's so called success =
>depressed and look up to
>broke peeps who hold the
>mik now." -Evidence
>
>"Socialism...let's hear that dirty word."-Jay Bulworth
>


Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
--Oscar Wilde

They strike one, above all, as giving no account of themselves in any terms already consecrated by human use; to this inarticulate state they probably form, collectively, the most unprecedented of monuments; abysmal the mystery of what they think, what they feel, what they want, what they suppose themselves to be saying.
--Henry James


Get Out the Room
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

Some of y'all need this in your life: http://www.psychology.com

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

polar
Charter member
904 posts
Thu Oct-25-01 07:20 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
20. "Whoa"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

this movie was really crazy - classic Lynch most definitely. Thanks for your analyses (plural), it helped me understand this movie a bit more - was the Diane actress in the end the same as Bettie? I really thought it was two different people. Great movie - need to watch it again - hopefully get the DVD


"You don't make enough bread to soak up all your liquor" - Plug Won

"swim in the dangerous part,building with thirsty mammals/white men scream -'swim Starks sharks!'" - Tony Starks

"When I'm in the sound-proof booth I get loose" - Del.

"Is every nigga with dreds for the cause, is every nigga with gold for the fall? Naw, so don't get caught up in appearance. It's Outkast/Aquemini, part of the black experience." -Andre Ben.

"drugs are bad, mmmmkay?"

twice as dope as most mc's/roast mc's/who is they supposed to be - Del

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

thebigfunk
Charter member
10457 posts
Thu Oct-25-01 05:31 PM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
21. "silencio"
In response to Reply # 0


          

anyone have any thought's on the whole silencio, club scene???

disturbing, to say the least... but i mean, what is it's importance to the film? in case it matters, my piecing together of the storyline pretty much fits with the root's....

-thebigfunk
Six on the Player:
Bullfrog: Bullfrog
Femi Kuti: Fight To Win
John Cage: In a Landscape
Christopher Williams: Side Streets Live
Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet
Erin Mckeown: Distillation

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
Brass_Tacts

Fri Oct-26-01 07:51 AM

  
22. "RE: silencio"
In response to Reply # 21


          

I am not sure how important it is for piecing the story together, I think it may be just Lynch showing us some urban decay. He is fond of looking below the surface, and this may a significant aspect of his nightmarish Hollywood. I dont know though. I know I enjoyed the scene.

tact.

Current top movies of 2001:
1. Mulholland Drive.
2. The Man Who Wasn't There
3. Sexy Beast
4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
5. Memento
6. Waking Life
7. Shrek
8. The Deep End
9. Apocalypse Now Redux
10. Ghost World

Soon to be classic
The Royal Tanenbaums
Storytelling
The Fellowship of the Ring
Ali
Ocean's Eleven

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
BelishaBeacon

Fri Oct-26-01 11:26 PM

  
24. "RE: silencio"
In response to Reply # 21


          

More analysis by Crystal House =)

The silencio club scene has several important parts. First, it shows the man who was originally in the hotel with the director, your first clue that something isn't write about this narrative, then the woman is lip sinking "there is no band" none of this is real, and none of what we have seen so far is real. It's a metaphor for what Diane is doing to herself. The singer collapses and Diane is also mentally collapsing. She's sobbing because she knows she's lost her lover. Finally, she finds that the blue box is on her... she knows what's going on and has been keeping in the box. This is the end of the fantasy.


Hey look Tom, I posted.






>anyone have any thought's on the
>whole silencio, club scene???
>
>disturbing, to say the least... but
>i mean, what is it's
>importance to the film?
>in case it matters, my
>piecing together of the storyline
>pretty much fits with the
>root's....
>
>-thebigfunk
>Six on the Player:
>Bullfrog: Bullfrog
>Femi Kuti: Fight To Win
>John Cage: In a Landscape
>Christopher Williams: Side Streets Live
>Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His
>Feet
>Erin Mckeown: Distillation



  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

        
thebigfunk
Charter member
10457 posts
Sat Oct-27-01 05:05 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
25. "damn"
In response to Reply # 24


          

i forgot that's when they find the blue box...

good call. that scene is even better than i remember... wow... i need to see this again.

-thebigfunk
Six on the Player:
Bullfrog: Bullfrog
Femi Kuti: Fight To Win
John Cage: In a Landscape
Christopher Williams: Side Streets Live
Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet
Erin Mckeown: Distillation

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

djrav
Charter member
989 posts
Fri Oct-26-01 09:27 PM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
23. "RE: Mulholland Drive"
In response to Reply # 0


          

Brilliant movie! I highly recommend it. Let yourself just get into the story....then worry about analysing it on the drive home.

Favourite part of seeing this on the big screen:

1. At the beginning, when the 2 old people from the airport are sitting in the taxi cab and are just smiling at each other, the girl beside me just started cracking up for about 4-5 minutes. She couldn't stop, and was holding her stomach and all...and after she finally stops, she turns to me to say "well, that scene alone was worth the damn $8!"

2. Watching 4 kids sneak in from another movie about 1 hour and 20 minutes into it and thinking to myself "these kids are going to be so lost!" Then, when exiting, hearing one of those kids say "Man, I swear to god I was on acid, cause I don't know what the fuck just happened to me for the past hour!"

3. Watching about 6 of the 20 people in the theatre leave at random times after the first hour shaking their heads. Then, watching about 6 of the remaining 14 get up after the movie and saying "that was so stupid!" while the other 8 just sat in their seats with big grins on their faces.

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

DreKing

Mon Oct-29-01 05:20 AM

  
26. "RE: Mulholland Drive"
In response to Reply # 0


          

I had the opportunity to see it lastnight. Let me start by saying the only reason I went was because the girl that invited me is cute. Other then her, I had no expectations for this movie. I may have watched Twin Peaks once or twice when it was on t.v. So I went into this one blind. Overall, I thought it was hilarious......especially the love scene when Bettie asked Rita if she'd ever done it w/ a girl before & she says "I don't remember". That was worth the trip to the movies for me. Other then that, I found it hard to follow at some points. But as soon as I gave up trying to make sense out of the thing, it became enjoyable. David Lynch has issues.






"we play music - to touch people. Make people happy. Inspire. It has nothing to do with hotel rooms being ready, flights being cancelled, long overnight bus or van rides, etc. People who pay money to hear us play don't want to hear about that. They just want to feel better when they hear us play. This is the number one thing I tell every young student I meet. Young musicians have a tendency to be too idealistic. Some older ones, too. Too wrapped up into who's the "hippest," etc. Utimately, the scales and solos we learn MUST be filtered into pure emotion. Break down the wall and let God play us"-Christian McBride

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

    
the root
Charter member
1380 posts
Mon Oct-29-01 11:20 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy listClick to send message via AOL IM
28. "plebian- dismiss him..."
In response to Reply # 26


  

          

hehe- just playin

"The task of philosophy is learning how to die." - Socrates

"If you live day to day then you probably live life more than a cat who got a Benz bankroll and a wife cuz yo I've seen a lot of folks who's so called success = depressed and look up to broke peeps who hold the mik now." -Evidence

"Socialism...let's hear that dirty word."-Jay Bulworth

the imperfect is our paradise - wallace stevens

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

cbk
Charter member
4535 posts
Mon Oct-29-01 11:23 AM

Click to send email to this author Click to send private message to this authorClick to view this author's profileClick to add this author to your buddy list
29. "and the oscar goes to..."
In response to Reply # 0


          

naomi watts. i had to read the credits to know she played both diane and betty. brilliant character adaptions, playing an innocent heroine and a vindictive woman done wrong.

plus, lesbian sex scenes are an added plus in my book (see: piper perabo in "lost and delerious").

Happy 50th D’Angelo: https://chrisp.bandcamp.com/track/d-50

  

Printer-friendly copy | Top

Lobby Pass The Popcorn Pass The Popcorn Archives topic #17691 Previous topic | Next topic
Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.25
Copyright © DCScripts.com