Could someone briefly explain Mullholland Drive for a Simpleton like me?!


Question: Giving the film only the tagline, "A love story in the city of dreams",[8] David Lynch has refused to comment on its meaning or symbolism, leading to much discussion and multiple interpretations. Christian Science Monitor film critic David Sterritt spoke with Lynch after the film screened at Cannes and wrote that the director "insisted that Mulholland Drive does tell a coherent, comprehensible story," unlike some of Lynch's earlier films.[12] On the other hand, Justin Theroux said of Lynch's feelings on the multiple meanings people take from the film, "I think he's genuinely happy for it to mean anything you want. He loves it when people come up with really bizarre interpretations. David works from his subconscious."[11]

An early interpretation of the film uses dream analysis to explain that the first part is a dream of the real Diane Selwyn, who has cast her dream-self as the innocent and hopeful "Betty Elms", reconstructing her history and persona into something like an old Hollywood movie. In her assumed life, Diane is successful, charming, and lives the fantasy life of a soon-to-be-famous actress. The last third of the film presents Diane's bleak real life, in which she has failed both personally and professionally. She arranges for Camilla, a cold ex-lover, to be killed, and unable to cope with the guilt, re-imagines her as the dependent, pliable amnesiac named Rita. However, clues to her inevitable demise continue to appear throughout her dream.[13]

This interpretation was similar to what Naomi Watts construed, when she said in an interview, "I thought Diane was the real character and that Betty was the person she wanted to be and had dreamed up. Rita is the damsel in distress and she's in absolute need of Betty, and Betty controls her as if she were a doll. Rita is Betty's fantasy of who she wants Camilla to be."[9] Watts' own early experiences in Hollywood parallel those of Diane's. She endured some professional frustration before she became successful, auditioned for parts she didn't believe in, and encountered people who didn't follow through with opportunities, remembering, "There were a lot of promises, but nothing actually came off. I ran out of money and became quite lonely." [14]

The Guardian asked six well-known film critics their own takes on the overall meaning in the Mulholland Drive. Neil Roberts of The Sun, and Tom Charity of Time Out subscribed to the theory that Betty is Diane's projection of a happier life. Roger Ebert and Jonathan Ross seemed to accept this interpretation, but both hesitated to overanalyze the movie, Ebert stating, "There is no explanation. There may not even be a mystery," and Ross taking into account some of the original content from the pilot may not have been resolved after the feature film was completed.[15] Phillip French from The Observer saw it as an allusion to Hollywood tragedy, while Jane Douglas from the BBC rejected the theory of Betty's life as Diane's dream, but also warned against too much analysis.[15]

Another theory offered is that the narrative is a M?bius strip, a twisted band that has no beginning and no end.[16] Or Betty and Rita, and Diane and Camilla may exist in parallel universes that sometimes interconnect. Or the entire film is a dream, but whose dream is unknown


Answers: Giving the film only the tagline, "A love story in the city of dreams",[8] David Lynch has refused to comment on its meaning or symbolism, leading to much discussion and multiple interpretations. Christian Science Monitor film critic David Sterritt spoke with Lynch after the film screened at Cannes and wrote that the director "insisted that Mulholland Drive does tell a coherent, comprehensible story," unlike some of Lynch's earlier films.[12] On the other hand, Justin Theroux said of Lynch's feelings on the multiple meanings people take from the film, "I think he's genuinely happy for it to mean anything you want. He loves it when people come up with really bizarre interpretations. David works from his subconscious."[11]

An early interpretation of the film uses dream analysis to explain that the first part is a dream of the real Diane Selwyn, who has cast her dream-self as the innocent and hopeful "Betty Elms", reconstructing her history and persona into something like an old Hollywood movie. In her assumed life, Diane is successful, charming, and lives the fantasy life of a soon-to-be-famous actress. The last third of the film presents Diane's bleak real life, in which she has failed both personally and professionally. She arranges for Camilla, a cold ex-lover, to be killed, and unable to cope with the guilt, re-imagines her as the dependent, pliable amnesiac named Rita. However, clues to her inevitable demise continue to appear throughout her dream.[13]

This interpretation was similar to what Naomi Watts construed, when she said in an interview, "I thought Diane was the real character and that Betty was the person she wanted to be and had dreamed up. Rita is the damsel in distress and she's in absolute need of Betty, and Betty controls her as if she were a doll. Rita is Betty's fantasy of who she wants Camilla to be."[9] Watts' own early experiences in Hollywood parallel those of Diane's. She endured some professional frustration before she became successful, auditioned for parts she didn't believe in, and encountered people who didn't follow through with opportunities, remembering, "There were a lot of promises, but nothing actually came off. I ran out of money and became quite lonely." [14]

The Guardian asked six well-known film critics their own takes on the overall meaning in the Mulholland Drive. Neil Roberts of The Sun, and Tom Charity of Time Out subscribed to the theory that Betty is Diane's projection of a happier life. Roger Ebert and Jonathan Ross seemed to accept this interpretation, but both hesitated to overanalyze the movie, Ebert stating, "There is no explanation. There may not even be a mystery," and Ross taking into account some of the original content from the pilot may not have been resolved after the feature film was completed.[15] Phillip French from The Observer saw it as an allusion to Hollywood tragedy, while Jane Douglas from the BBC rejected the theory of Betty's life as Diane's dream, but also warned against too much analysis.[15]

Another theory offered is that the narrative is a M?bius strip, a twisted band that has no beginning and no end.[16] Or Betty and Rita, and Diane and Camilla may exist in parallel universes that sometimes interconnect. Or the entire film is a dream, but whose dream is unknown

Mulholland Drive is a 2001 mystery film written and directed by David Lynch, and exhibiting elements of film noir and the surreal. It stars Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring and Justin Theroux. The film was strongly acclaimed by many critics and earned Lynch an Oscar nomination for Best Director as well as the Prix de la mise en scène (Best Director Award) at the Cannes Film Festival. Mulholland Drive is notable for launching the careers of Watts, Harring, and being the last feature film starring veteran Hollywood actor Ann Miller.

I didn't understand it either. It was weird. And a tad scary.

Supposedly it is where all the rich spoiled kids live in California and from news stories etc. there is always some kind of drama taking place there, you know with people like Linsay Lohan, Paris the dirt bag etc.

Like a few of his other films, I don't think lynch wants u to "figure it out" he actually tagged this movie with the phrase "the mystery that doesn't want to be solved"



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