"Mulholland Drive" is a picture around which endless disputes and debates have been and are still ongoing. The detective, thriller, crime drama, released in 2001, is an example of directing and cinematography. What is the gravity of Mulholland Drive? In the incomprehensibility of the plot and the search for the meaning of the plot action, which is not revealed to most viewers from the first time.
Find your understanding of the meaning of Mulholland Drive
There are several versions of the meaning of the film, or rather, an infinite number of them, since the director leaves room for fantasy, presenting a mystical, paranormal action, where the heroes exist in parallel worlds: real and desired. They plunge into the world of fantasy and fiction in order to hide from the cruel truth, unfulfilled hopes, and unsettled relationships.
Having watched the film once, the viewer will rank himself among the army of admirers of his genre of mysticism, or individual indifferent. The former will view the picture at least one more time or many more times, and each new viewing will reveal the meaning from the other side.
The meaning laid down by the director
One of the versions of what the film is about: in the real world, Camilla and Diana are mistresses, actresses. After Camilla's betrayal with the director, Diana orders her murder out of jealousy. But Diana herself dies in a car accident, and Camilla runs away with money for the killer. Then the mysticism begins: Rita and Betty appear - they are the fruit of someone's illusory dream. These characters experience remorse, fear for what they have done or from an impending threat. In the mystical world, symbolic heroes, spaces (garbage dump), objects (blue key and blue box) appear, and once the mystical becomes conscious. Love, revenge, greed of criminal syndicates, killers - everything is mixed up in history. There are many riddles to which there is still no answer.
The second way to solve the meaning of the film: the main character here is Ruth. She is seen only once, before the credits: a red-haired woman breathing under a red blanket. She is a successful Hollywood actress who, according to the official version, died "leaving a sum of money to her niece." The following narrative is two levels about the life and death of Ruth. The first is like a memory of the real, the second is fantastic, that is, the story of Betty-Diana.
You can find the meaning of the film in the fact that the director shows all the complexities of human relationships, choosing, for example, unconventional love, jealousy, promises of murder and the justice of retribution. The secrets of the past relentlessly follow Rita, who has lost her memory and is trying to understand: who she really is, who were the two men in the car nearby, who died in a car accident, where Rita remained alive and with a large amount of money. Aspiring actress Betty appears in Rita's life …
The legendary David Lynch preferred to remain silent about the meaning of his work. But he gave 10 tips for the viewer. By carefully following them, perhaps everyone will find the meaning of the film - their own.
