Introduction"Mulholland Dr". is a mental thriller movie launched in 2001, not 1999, that was directed by David Lynch. Built on complex and puzzling narrative series, the movie uncommonly switches between a non-linear format and the dream reality, which makes it among Lynch's most renowned and thought-provoking motion pictures.
PlotThe movie mainly focuses on two central characters, aiming actress Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) and amnesiac lady Rita (Laura Harring), who fulfill in a house in Los Angeles. Betty is positive and focused on finding success in Hollywood, juxtaposed with Rita, named after a Rita Hayworth poster, who has no recollection of her past after making it through an auto accident on Mulholland Drive.
Switching RealitiesAs the film progresses, the plot unfolds in confusing and somewhat disturbing methods. Betty helps Rita in attempting to reveal her identity where they discover numerous clues, mainly a large sum of money and a mysterious blue key in Rita's purse. They end up being more entangled in a dream-like sequence of neo-noir Hollywood where criminal offense distributes communicate with movie directors.
However, everything changes abruptly when they discover a small blue box that matches Rita's strange secret. Upon unlocking it, Betty vanishes, and an entire new truth unfolds. The happy and optimistic Betty we've known is then viewed as Diane Selwyn, an unsuccessful actress filled with jealousy against the successful movie actress Camilla Rhodes, who seems a real-life variation of the amnesiac Rita.
The Contrast in CharactersThis narrative shift reveals Betty, represented as an ignorant but hopeful starlet who becomes a scorned fan filled with revenge towards Camilla in truth. On the other hand, Rita, who seems to be a victim of a harmful saga during Betty's dream, seems a successful however insensitive lady in reality who winds up hurting Betty deeply in love.
Final Sequences and InterpretationComing near the end, Lynch's storytelling gets back at more extreme and upsetting. Having problem with her career and ravaged by her unsuccessful love life, Diane employs a hit man to kill Camilla. Stricken with guilt, a series of troubling hallucinations afflict her. The sequence leads Diane to lose control of her awareness culminating in her devoting suicide.
ConclusionLike much of Lynch's movies, "Mulholland Dr". deals few concrete answers. It is a surreal depiction of an unforgiving Hollywood sprinkled with symbolism and non-linear storytelling. The beauty of "Mulholland Dr". resides in the reality that it strongly encourages audiences to untangle the complex web of narrative themselves and leaves it open to specific analysis.
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