Mulholland Drive (2001) film review - the plot explained
★★★★★
A surreal thriller mystery, ‘Mulholland Drive’ tells the story of Betty, an aspiring actress who befriends an enigmatic dark-haired woman recovering from a car crash.
Director: David Lynch. Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Mark Pellegrino. 15 cert, 146 min.
Set in the sprawling Hollywood city of Los Angeles, ‘Mulholland Drive’ is a surreal thriller mystery that tells the story of Betty, an aspiring actress who befriends an enigmatic dark-haired woman recovering from a car crash. With no memory of who she is and only the persistent feeling that she is in terrible danger, Betty attempts to help her recover her identity and unravel the mysteries surrounding it. Directed by David Lynch, ‘Mulholland Drive’ maintains an inexplicably menacing tone throughout, with a compelling plot that remains impenetrable to the end. With that said, this film still manages to invoke a surprising emotional response as it explores the sleaziness of Hollywood and the flimsy barrier between dreams and reality.
‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001) film poster artwork
A nightmarish depiction of Hollywood
Characteristically for David Lynch, ‘Mulholland Drive’ is hard to digest, and I’d argue impossible to fully decipher. On the one hand, we have the mystery of Rita, played by Laura Elena Harding, the beautiful woman who materialises on Betty’s doorstep with nothing but a purse containing a large amount of cash and a strange blue key. Betty, played by Naomi Watts, is a character reminiscent of a traditional Hollywood starlet. Blonde, guileless, and starry-eyed, she represents the hundreds of young women arriving in Los Angeles in the hope of becoming the next Bette Davis. Her unsuspecting nature is mocked by the old couple she befriends on her flight to Hollywood, who wish her the best before later breaking out in peals of laughter in their taxi to the city.
In a seemingly connected storyline, ‘Mulholland Drive’ depicts the young, arrogant director Adam Kesher, who is played by Justin Theroux. In yet another trope, Lynch shows us the male-dominated, corrupt nature of the film industry as Adam attempts to resist the suggestion of his superiors to cast actress Camilla Rhodes in the lead role of his new movie. As the pressure applied to cast this girl grows increasingly sinister, ‘Mulholland Drive’ depicts Hollywood as an unsavoury establishment controlled by evil film studios and omnipotent men hidden behind one-way mirrors. Lynch’s film may transcend the traditional conventions of chronology and narrative, but it still succeeds in painting a nightmarish picture of an environment where very few succeed, and those who don’t fall victim to its depravity.
Blurring the line between dreams and reality
(Warning: contains spoilers) ‘Mulholland Drive’ contains a multitude of perplexing scenes which take on a dreamlike consistency. Precariously linked by various locations and themes that Lynch leads the viewer to believe are crucial to the film’s overriding mystery, the majority of the ideas introduced are never explained or clarified. The most notable example of this is the scene in which two men eat breakfast at a diner called Winkie’s, a place that Rita and Betty also later visit. One of the men appears terrified as he explains a peculiar dream he had involving his companion and a monster, the authenticity of which he wants to verify by revisiting the nightmare’s location. Upon discovering the monster in question, the man faints. The reality of this monster and its significance to the complexities of ‘Mulholland Drive’ is never explicit, but its impact on the film’s atmosphere is perpetual and ever-present. It is the first sign that Lynch’s work takes place in a different kind of reality to our own, one in which nightmarish things take place.
After following clues regarding Rita’s identity to the house of Diane Selwyn, a woman whom Rita believes she knows, the two girls are horrified to discover her dead; having presumably committed suicide. In an increasingly chilling search for clarity, Rita and Betty later visit a theatre called ‘Silencio.’ The odd performance they witness is a sign that the viewer should not take the events thus far in ‘Mulholland Drive’ on face value, as the operatic voice which appears to emanate from the woman on stage turns out to be nothing more than a recording. Upon returning home, Betty discovers Rita missing. She then finds a blue box in her purse which matches the key Rita had on her arrival. Desperate to unravel the mystery behind the woman that she has fallen in love with, Betty unlocks the box and immediately disappears.
The ending explained
At this point in the film, we are taken back to Diane Selwyn’s apartment. Undoubtedly alive, she wakes up, and it is implied that Betty is in fact Diane Selwyn. However, the formerly gorgeous, wannabe movie star has lost much of her shine. Diane is evidently unhappy and engaged in a toxic relationship with Rita, who is now Camilla Rhodes; the actress Adam was coerced into casting in his upcoming movie. In a disturbing turn of events, we watch as Diane/Betty is eclipsed in talent and charm by Rita/Camilla as she effortlessly navigates Hollywood as a seductive movie star in a relationship with her director, Adam. Driven mad, Diane experiences frightening hallucinations in which the old couple from before emerge from the strange blue box and mock her maniacally. She eventually runs to her bedroom and shoots herself in the head. 'Mulholland Drive’ ends with a montage of shots depicting Los Angeles in all its cruel beauty, and a closeup of the actress/singer from the theatre. ‘Silencio,’ she says.
Like I said, I believe it is impossible to fully decipher the mysteries of ‘Mulholland Drive,’ as it is a movie that is very much dependent on what you take from it. However, there is a theory about Lynch’s film which I think is most plausible. The first half can be interpreted as an idealised dream sequence where Diane Selwyn is instead Betty Elms, a woman loved and appreciated by Camilla/Rita with a bright future in Hollywood ahead of her. In retrospect, Betty is not discovering clues about Rita’s life over the course of the film, but about her own. The second half is therefore a brutal representation of Diane’s reality, and the reality of many young girls who move to Los Angeles in search of a career in the movie industry.
Should you watch this before you die?
Overall, ‘Mulholland Drive’ can best be described as a deep delve into the human subconscious. Exploring the idea of dreams in a way which frequently transcends the barriers of reality, it is always captivating, and often disturbing. It can be viewed as a cautionary tale about the pursuit of fame, a projection of a young girl’s feelings of inadequacy, or simply a thrilling mystery which is entirely open to interpretation; however you view it, Lynch’s work is an achievement on grand proportions. If you haven’t already watched ‘Mulholland Drive,’ it is an experience you will not want to miss out on.