Mulholland Drive Review

        I think of all the David Lynch film’s I’ve seen so far in this summer, Mulholland Drive might be up there as my favorite of the director. And it seems to be that way with a consortium of critics when compiling a list of the greatest films of the 2000s. Out of all the ranked lists that I’ve read has this and Blue Velvet as the top tier films of the director. Little did I know that this is the middle film of the so called “LA Trilogy” of films where David Lynch shot Lost Highway, this one and Inland Empire. I love this film so let’s get down to it. 

1. Betty and Rita

        Just before we talk about the film, I wasn’t aware that Mulholland Dr. was initially pitched as a TV show. Much like Twin Peaks, it was supposed to be another Lynchian mystery with a woman with amnesia set in Hollywood. I’d assume that Lynch wouldn’t want to do another show after going through what happened with Twin Peaks. Inevitably, he shot the initial pilot of the show but it wasn’t picked up by the network. Reading from the sources, it can be inferred that the whole movie was supposed to be stretched had it been a show. 

        With that, we follow an unnamed woman who is in a limo. A car crash occurs where she escapes from the wreckage and goes into the streets of Los Angeles. She hides in an apartment as she tries to hide from someone. Meanwhile, we follow an up-and-coming actress named Betty as she arrives and has a positive attitude over her potential outlooks. It reminds me a lot of the first A Star Is Born as Naomi Watts character has that mentality. From there, she meets the woman in her apartment who goes by the name “Rita”. 

        Much like Blue Velvet before, Betty takes it upon herself to help “Rita” identify who she really is and why she was involved in a crash. I really like the overall story and chemistry between the two women. Betty is a very active character in terms of figuring out the mystery involving Rita. So much so that she uses it as an excuse to explore Hollywood since she’s attempting to land some auditions. That’s not to say that Rita is a blank slate and is just there. Far from the truth, she’s as interested in figuring out who she is. 

        One may think that she’s a complicit or a femme fatale for some gangsters. Well, more to the story is that there’s a director named Adam who’s being hounded by a group of mobsters to hire a specific gangster. I felt that their inclusion to the plot didn’t really connect to what’s going on with the two women. Specifically, when in one moment where we see Adam directing that she and Betty lock eyes for a few moments. To infer to us that they have an attraction or something peculiar. 

        I don’t know if talking about one aspect of the film would be beneficial or what. I feel that if I don’t, I wouldn’t do the film justice. With the level of Lynchian aspects it was kept to a minimum, until near the end of the film. That’s when the movie probably has the best example of the “it was all a dream” trope. And what I mean by that is there’s an object that Rita initially has until Betty takes it to observe it. When she opens it makes the movie from ten to an 11. Just the whole twist where the character dynamics is switched along with the situations makes the whole film interesting in a story. 

        I feel that this is the perfect way to do a Lynchian approach without it being too vague or abstract that would be detrimental to the overall film. It’s often time said the subtle way is the right way since it’s apparent that the story is taken to a new angle. Almost everything makes sense with the subplot involving the director and when two characters are at a diner. That specific scene was weird since they’re both talking about a dream and of a mysterious monster that scares one of them. Lo and behold when it shows up just behind the restaurant is when of the men falls in total shock. 

2. Hollywood

        The more I think about it, I feel that the film is sort of like a spiritual successor to an old Film Noir movie called Sunset Boulevard. I talked about that one many moons ago, albeit it’s one of my favorite films if you were going to ask me. Most of them deal with the cutthroat nature that is the Hollywood system. With the old film, it has it where the system throws away old stars and continually uses by the number stories. Familiar as it is, the film was the first to both call out and lampoon the system that isn’t for everyone. 

        With Mulholland Dr., it’s clear that it uses another street name but goes about the whole Hollywood angle in a unique way. For one thing, I feel that it’s totally on par with how Lynch is creative with this approach. I feel that Adam the director is a sort of stand in for Lynch when being confronted to pick specific actors instead of the ones that have become regulars or beloved to him. More so that he’s aware of the inner workings of the whole thing that the representation is where the restaurant monster pops in. It’s the muck or the actual representation of how a struggling actor/actress tries to succeed in Hollywood. 

        One scene specifically is probably my favorite in the whole film. Both Betty and Rita go to this club called Club Silencio. The duo see a performance, but one where the whole acting/singing of it is fake. Since the sound has been recorded prior and to only see the real-life singer Rebekah Del Rio lip-synch to the song. Part of it feels real since, it is her voice being projected as she’s “singing”. There are even moments where we see the duo be closer and more emphasis placed on Betty. I don’t know if Rebekah falling was planned, but it makes me interested in seeing her performance more. Little did I know that she passed away, but her performance is easily one of the best parts in the film. 

3. Overall

        Mulholland Drive is one of David Lynch’s best films and one of the best films of the 2000s.