In 1999, ABC asked David Lynch to make a pilot for a television series that would air through the 1999-2000 season. Since Lynch had delved into television before for his 1990-1991 Twin Peaks series, one could only imagine the many ideas Lynch would have to improve on his own style. Twin Peaks was a sensation, and television definitely needed to be jolted out of the banality of "reality" shows.
After seeing the pilot, top executives thought it to be too weird for their likes. They opted to go with Wasteland (a low-quality teen drama from the creators of Dawson's Creek). What were they expecting? The Straight Story?
So, Lynch took what he had made, added about 45 minutes to it, and created the masterpiece that is Mulholland Drive.
This surrealist, noir-like drama can easily be summed up by its tag line, "A love story in the city of dreams." But for any Lynch fan, there's much more.
The movie starts off on winding roads in the hills of Hollywood. We then see a car accident foil the murder of a character played by Laura Harring. Luckily she walks away with her life, but not her memory. She slips into the first empty apartment she can find, only to be greeted by the tenant's niece, Betty (Naomi Watts), a bright-eyed naive woman who wants to become an actress.
The amnesiac names herself Rita after seeing a Rita Hayworth poster and the audience is immediately thrust into a 1950s noir film as Rita and Betty try to answer the questions: Who was trying to kill Rita? Who was she before? And what's with that weird blue key in her purse?
In the familiar Twin Peaks style, there are many other story lines and characters. One involves a hot Hollywood director (Justin Theroux) who is being relieved of casting his own film by some mob types. Another is about a clumsy assassin. In one of the funniest moments in the film, the assassin accidentally kills three people while only trying to kill one. While all of the characters are tied up in the end, some of them are obviously marginalized. They can only be characters that Lynch would have developed in later episodes - had he gotten a show.
Though what I've explained barely scraps the surface of the plot and the story, it would be impossible for me to explain exactly what is going on without writing 10 pages - or providing an over-detailed summary of the entire script. Characters change places and different realities melt away as new plots are invented. And who knows what's a dream and what's not.
David Lynch is the only working surrealist director out there today. The other great surrealist of the 20th century, Luis Buenell, would be proud. Mulholland Drive plays around with reality and nesting more than The Discrete Charms of the Bourgeoisie. Lynch won a deserved best directing prize at Cannes for his efforts.
After seeing this film many people were just confused. Sure, they were impressed by the scope of the film and the sheer brilliance of the directing style, but what did it all mean? With Lynch you have to question what you see. Like in the case of the insects in Blue Velvet, there's something else going on beneath what we see.
There are many references to 1950s television and Hollywood, obviously relating it to the Hollywood of today. Lynch explores issues of dreams vs. reality and the duality of man. Can we create alternate realities for ourselves to escape our problems and excessive hardships?
When we are first introduced to the character of Betty she is so perky and over-the-top that we question how real she can be. Could the first 100 minutes of the film be a dream? A recreation of actual events changed within someone's mind? Lynch paints a very dark picture of Hollywood and what it is today. Maybe instead of a happy love story, this is the story of a woman who came to L.A. looking to fulfill her dreams only to be chewed up by a cruel system where lives can be broken within a day. To escape this harsh reality she creates a 1950s noir movie in her head.
We are constantly jumping through time and reality, so who knows what is really going on? There is much more to say than space in this article allows, but I will tell everyone to give this movie a chance. Sure, it's not for mainstream audiences. It could certainly be considered "weird." But it is by far the best film I've seen this year, and I hope it is a testament for films to come in the next few months.
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