It's one of the greatest observations and depictions into the grim, bleak, often realistic nature of showbusiness. The film is a tragically heartbreaking depiction of the real world vs. the fabricated, superficial, bright, beautiful world that we want to exist but won't.
The film is very thematically similar to David Lynch's
Lost Highway. It's basically about escaping harsh reality and indulging in a fantasy.
Add to the fact that Lynch is a God when it comes to depicting the uncanny, the eerie, the surreal. He has this adept ability to just establish that sensation of a dream. It's indescribable, really.
If any of you are interested (which I doubt you are), I wrote an essay on the film last year as part of an assignment.
Mulholland Drive is a 2001 critically acclaimed film directed by David Lynch. Classifying what genre it belongs to is demanding; the film is one of David Lynch which means it'll be ambiguous in its thematic nature and stylistically bizarre; audiences would come to expect that they'll be no clear answer or coherency in its narrative, and that analysing all facets is vital when it comes to understanding the picture. Mulholland Drive sports an extremely complex narrative; be symbolic in its visual depiction by communicating to the audiences the emotional state of its character and the progression of its narrative; using costuming, props and setting as a device to strengthen the caliber of the film; adopt a symbolic use of lighting/shadowing; communicate abstractions and narrative through its cinematography; impact the narrative and the direction of the film through techniques of editing; and also being instrumental in sound design and how that adds to the overall merit of the film. One of the films' pivotal sequences is the “dream” world of Betty and Rita – in this sequence, Betty is out to help Rita find her identity (I,e., who she is, what truly happened, and why she can't remember her name). The two embark on an adventure which leads to an intimate, engaging relationship, and also further represents the idea that this world is a figment of Diane's imagination.
This sequence here is pivotal in regards to telling the “story” to its audiences. In the film, we're only strictly introduced to these characters (i.e., Betty, the successful, ambition actresses hoping for stardom in Hollywood, and, Rita, the bewildered lady who has seemed to be involved in an accident). Later on, we become aware that these events are merely distortions of Diane's imagination, but this sequence of finding Rita's identity and seeing Betty successfully prevail her film audition progresses the narrative and tells its audiences what type of world these characters inhabit; this sequence proves crucial to the development of the narrative later on in the film.
In addition, the sequence contributes a great deal of character development – initially, Betty is clearly depicted as a determined, youthful (albeit naďve) actress, but as the sequence develops, we learn that she is someone who becomes obsessed with finding Rita's identity (moreso than pursuing her career), and that her determination to help Rita involves into an intimate relationship. Rita, who is initially depicted as introverted, becomes infatuated with Betty's guidance and emotional investment in helping her, that she, too, becomes devoted in their relationship.
One of the primary goals of this sequence is to position us in this mystery. Lynch deliberately plays out that ambiguity of Rita's identify like a conventional detective mystery (i.e., finding clues, reading the papers, breaking into apartments), and the reason why he elects to adopt this style is for his viewers to have emotional investment in what is happening; to be sympathetic with these characters, and have a strong, impressive view of Betty (the protagonist of the film), due to her control and supervision. Lynch decides to go down this route for us to think highly of Betty (the beautiful, optimistic 'actress'), and become sympathetically engrossed in her actions. Later on in the film, when we see the first depiction of Diane (the exact opposite character in nature than Betty), we become startled and bewildered because after seeing such a solicitous depiction of Betty in the said segment.
This sequence also contributes to the films' thematic nature. In this sequence, we're presented with a bright, superficial world (the photography is deliberately soap-operish), and a faithful, naďve actress hoping to pursue success in a competitive, riveting industry. As we learn, Betty is merely a figment of Diane's imagination (and Diane is depicted as a vulnerable, isolated 'no-hoper'), so this sequence strengthens the argument Lynch is conveying – that, Hollywood and the film industry is a dark, pessimistic environment, where failure is more occurring than success, and that the only way to have hopes, ambitions and desire is through your dreams; reality is disheartening. In regards to this sequence, it depicts the “made-up” world where you can be the talented, number one actress you so desire, and the indivisual who has control and intimacy with her lover (in this case, Rita).
David Lynch elects to pursue many different techniques to help emphasise the themes, characters, narrative and overall atmospheric nature of the film. The casting of Naomi Watts as the naďve, ambitious actress was heavily deliberate – she has a real authentic look, but also someone that can pull off an innocent and encouraging character extremely well. In addition to that, the severity of lighting is paramount to the film – take note in the scenes where Betty arrives out of the cab or sees her Aunty's apartment for the very first time; the lighting is deliberately bright and glossy, which perfectly conjures with Lynch's arguments (that the dream world is where your hopes come true; and associating lustrous colours with it symbolises aspiration). Furthermore, the lighting adds a surrealistic atmosphere to the scenes shot at night; in the film, there is one shot when Betty and Diane catch a taxi of a lit-up LA main street, and all of these lamp poles and other sources of 'light' have a lens flair effect to it – this helps the film, atmospherically, and gives it an eerie feeling.
Additionally, the way Lynch guides his actors is significant – Betty is depicted as a well-mannered, almost overly-excited woman. This is evident where she enters her Aunty's apartment, by herself, and begins to energetically set up her room by placing her clothes in the draw and cupboards; the facial expressions of Betty and the excessive hearings of gratification really add to the themes Lynch is addressing. Lynch wants this world these characters inhabit to be as shallow as possible (hence the glazing photography and hyperbolic use of mannerism) – because when it comes to depicting the contrast of this world to reality, the visual display has to be conflicting in almost all areas. A very subtle implementation from Lynch is dressing Watts in the way that perfectly integrates with her character. She dresses in this dazzling pink top in many scenes (which can be seen as very feminine), and in other scenes, in an extremely professional manner. The way she dresses can be seen as a reflection of her optimism in the acting industry – it speaks volumes about the character and her goals. All of these facets which seamlessly combine create mis en scene – and these aspects (lighting, costuming, acting) tell a story. It speaks about the characters, the atmosphere, and also progresses the narrative itself.
The photography in Mulholland Drive is crucial in conveying its themes and narrative. The cinematography in the sequence is deliberately saturated in vibrant, glorified colours. Lynch elected to do this to again, emphasise the dreamlike nature these characters are inhabiting. The ideal goal of this sequence was to stylistically establish a technique that would be effective to contrast when Diane 'wakes-up'. It also adds to the subjects of dreams vs. reality in the film which are significant. The effect of this decision was for the saturated, sentimentalised look to conjure with the characters' motives and beliefs (i.e., Betty being optimistic about her new career in acting), the fact that when the film is at its most vibrant and soft, it is Diane's 'dream' character (i.e., Betty; an indivisual who succeeds in areas that Diane failed in; the intimate relationship with Rita, scoring the main role in an upcoming film, prevailing brilliantly in her audition), and when the film is at its most rough and stylistically unappealing, we're in reality with Diane. Lynch gives this world a subtle 'dream' distinction – it can all be confused as reality (since it is not overly-surrealistic or outlandish), but at the same time, has visuals that suggest otherwise.
The editing speaks volumes on the relationship of Betty and Rita. As the two become more intimate in their relationship and more evoked in the mystery of finding Rita's true identity, the general pattern of editing becomes more intimate – we begin to see more shots of the two in the same frame (instead of two different shots of the two being the only sole focus of a shot). Lynch elects to do this in the shooting phase, yes, but wants to display that through the editing – he uses editing as a “device” to visually and thematically represent the current state of the story and its characters. Notice the first scene where Betty sees Rita; the editing demonstrates this distance from these characters, but as the sequence develops, and Betty becomes more invested in helping Rita, the editing begins to show these two characters in a more closer nature, conveying their emotional state towards each other and also further strengthens the thematic ideas that in Diane's “dream”, she is with Rita, and she is the 'lead actress' (i.e., the famous Club Silenco scene depicting Betty and Rita extremely closely together, becoming emotionally in awe in the singing performance). Ultimately, the editing in this film does an extremely solid job in communicating the importance and progression of the emotional state of both Betty and Rita. Had the editing not had a progression or sport a contrast (i.e., not depict Rita and Betty in one way and then in another), the ideas Lynch wanted to communicate to us wouldn't have been sufficient or effective in their delivery, by exposing the development in the characters and thematic issues it conveys.
Lynch uses sound effectively in Mullholand Drive. The use of non-digetic sound plays crucial to the overall core of the sequence. One notable scene when musical score plays a significant rule is when Betty and Rita physically express their affection for one another – the score in this scene helps the scene immensely, primarily because it has such a sentimental, melancholy feel which contributes to the main subject Lynch is conveying to the audiences. This scene wasn't exploitive in nature, but very affectionate, and this score supports that (Betty's love for Rita wasn't superficial, or one that was based off jealously/revenge; it was real and beautiful, but the only way Betty/Diane can experience this importance in their relationship is through dreams). Additionally, the film sports subtle, surrealistic sound effects that are vital to the atmosphere of the film (the scene where Betty and Rita enter the theatre at night,: the camera zooms up spontaneously towards the two entering the theatre and there is a sound effect that creates a somewhat nauseastic, eerie feeling). Lynch elects to use musical score to its potential in the film – when he wants to emphasise the importance of character relation, he uses profound, affectionate music; when he wants his audiences' to feel somewhat bewildered in nature, he adopts subtle sound effects; when he wants to convey the naďve nature of the protagonist, Betty, he hyperbolises the mannerism and tone of the character. All of these small facets ultimately combine together to create an effective experience, but most importantly, positioning the audiences into thinking a certain way (in this case, Betty; being depicted as a beautiful albeit inexperienced actress).
Ultimately, Mulholland Drive manages to combine all the important facets in film to create a daring and challenging piece of ambitious cinema. Even though a lot of it is subtle and subdued on a grander scale, without the importance of costume designs, appropriate casting, symbolic use of lighting/shadowing, photography, editing manipulation and overall direction, the film would be completely different in nature. When making a film, a director wants to convey something; whether it be an argument, a critique, a debate, or an endorsement, and if you want to have the liberty to do this, you need to adopt, exercise and work around all of these facets. Without them, film wouldn't be such a powerful medium that has implemented this huge, instrumental impact across our society.
Reply to Topic
