Mulholland drive, ..may contain spoilers, who knows =o?

im_invisible

i could post up the whole script, and still probably wouldnt be anywhere nearer understanding it,
must get script off net, read it

been a while since i seen it, whats the deal with the old couple, who end up really small, for some reason? or the guy in the diner, and the monster who jumps out from behind the wall?

ive seen it twice, and im not really understanding a lot of it at all, its on tv3 tomorrow night, but ive got the video at home, so ill prob give it a watch tonight, and then watch it on tv tomorrow
dont ask why i'd do something like that, i think i enjoy the ad breaks

Sad Professor

This is probably one of my favourite films ever, it's fascinating and everytime I watch it I notice something new. It's all open to interpretation of course and you really should form your own opinions of it.

But I think the old couple may be Diane's grandparents. In her dream they may represent her conscience, which in the end drives her to kill herself.

The guy in the diner (talking about his dream at the start) was nobody, just some guy she saw while she was meeting with Camilla's killer. He (like several other figures in the film) became ingrained in her memory and then appeared in her dream.

I'm not sure about the monster. I think it may represent Diane herself.

johnny_ultimate

A further question:
Having watched INLAND EMPIRE (better keep with Lynch's insistence on caps lock for said title) twice in the cinema, both times I became distracted by the continued appearance of a red lamp in certain scenes.
Re-watched Mullholland Drive there the other night and that darn lamp appeared as well!
The odd thing is there seems to be no clear link between the lamp scenes.

Any interpretations?

S.M.B.

Is the lamp not to show which scenes occur within the dream sequence and which are 'reality'.

Didn't look at it on Saturday but from memorey I thought the red lamp sits beside Diane's bed (the one which she's is dreaming from).

Sad Professor

Well I think the whole film is a dream or two dreams to exact. The second begins after the opening of the blue box. And the dreamer is dead/dying so we can only piece together what really happened.

Anyway I always thought the red lamp was related to the lights of the car at the beginning. Lynch uses colour very carefully.

Btw, anyone remember at the party (near the end) when Camilla and the director are about to (we assume) announce their engagement but just start laughing like crazy instead? Well at the start of the film right after the car accident there are two drunk people stumbling down the street and they are laughing the exact same way. They cause Rita to take refuge in Betty's aunt's house. The film is filled with great little touches like this.

S.M.B.

Why do you assume there's two dreams within the film? What suggests the latter section of the film is also a dream?

Sad Professor

S.M.B. wrote:

Why do you assume there's two dreams within the film? What suggests the latter section of the film is also a dream?

Well, there's lots. The little people coming under the door; the monster; the general goings-on at the party in the Hollywood hills; all the shifting around in time. Everything is surreal, almost like she knows she's dreaming. That I think may be the big revelation of the Silencio scene, she realises that it's all illusion, she's trying to escape in this fantasy but none of it's real. That's when the her true memories come flooding back. But they aren't reality either, just how she experienced them. In real life Camilla probably wasn't nearly so cruel to her but because she's so screwed up she remembers it in this twisted way.

S.M.B.

I always considered the scenes after Silencio to be reality based with a little added demenita but the idea of it been a moment of realisation and a continuation of the dream makes perfect sense.

Must look at the movie again. I don't think I'll ever tire of it.

Master Shake

Sad Professor wrote:

Well, there's lots. The little people coming under the door; the monster; the general goings-on at the party in the Hollywood hills; all the shifting around in time. Everything is surreal, almost like she knows she's dreaming. That I think may be the big revelation of the Silencio scene, she realises that it's all illusion, she's trying to escape in this fantasy but none of it's real. That's when the her true memories come flooding back. But they aren't reality either, just how she experienced them. In real life Camilla probably wasn't nearly so cruel to her but because she's so screwed up she remembers it in this twisted way.

Your particular theory is very interesting Sad Professor. Out of curiosity, do you believe Diane/Betty actually kills herself? Or is that a dreamscape representation of her psychological desperation and breakdown?

Sad Professor

Master Shake wrote:

Your particular theory is very interesting Sad Professor. Out of curiosity, do you believe Diane/Betty actually kills herself? Or is that a dreamscape representation of her psychological desperation and breakdown?

Yeah I think she really kills herself. There's a shot at the start of the film of someone's POV falling towards a pillow on a bed, I think that's right before she shoots herself. So the whole film takes place in the final moments before she cracks, or perhaps right after as she dies. Although the idea that it's just another part of her dream (and didn't really happen) is certainly a valid interpretation and one I've considered.

There's a lot of hints in the film about something much darker in Diane's past. I've always found something very odd and disturbing about the audition scene, she's too good in it, like she's not acting. It seems real. Looking at Lynch's past films I'm inclined to think it might involve some kind of abuse. The old guy actor who she auditions with is called Woody and in the part he says something like "Dad's best friend goes to work". Dad's best friend? Woody?

Btw anyone who likes this film should also check out Lynch's Lost Highway as well. They're very similar in places.

Laserface

some good points there...enjoyed reading what you all think.
This is probably my avourite DL film..alongside the Twin Peaks:Fire Walk With Me movie.

the beauty of any lynch film is it's total openness to interpretation.

Sad Professor..that couple laughing you mentioned is a good find. I never noticed that. Must watch out for it the next time.

I have always felt that there is a truckload of abuse smouldering under the film too, but that's just my feelings toward it.
The old couple who "come for her" at the end of the film... I have heard many a theory that it could possibly be that her grandparents abused her.
Not sure if i agree with that...
But that scene after betty arrives at the airport...then the old couple just grin at each other??? wtf??
I personally find that to be the creepiest and most mysterious scene in cinema history.
It still baffles me.

In regard to the red lamps. I personally believe they are merely a trademark of DL at this stage. They appear over and over again in most of his films, like the red curtains, twin/dual beings, blond women singing on stage (eraserhead/twin peaks)..etc

I'm considering starting a DL music thread as i'm a huge fan of the music he creates/uses in his films.