Mulholland Drive (2001)
About This Movie
A bright eyed aspiring actress arrives in Hollywood and befriends an amnesiac woman who has survived a car accident on Mulholland Drive, and their investigation into the woman's identity leads them into a labyrinth of dreams, desire, and the entertainment industry's capacity to devour the people who love it. David Lynch created a puzzle film that haunts you not because you cannot solve it, but because the emotions it generates are so vivid that the logic almost does not matter.
Why It's a Classic
Lynch originally shot the film as a television pilot that ABC rejected, and he then expanded and restructured it into a feature that uses the gap between the TV and film versions as part of its meaning: this is a story about transformation, about one version of reality giving way to another, and the seams are visible by design. Naomi Watts delivers a dual performance that ranks among the most remarkable in film history, playing both the sunny, talented Betty and the broken, jealous Diane, and the shift between these two women is where the film's real horror lives. The Club Silencio scene, where a performer lip syncs to a Spanish language recording of Roy Orbison's 'Crying,' is a distillation of Lynch's central theme: the beauty is an illusion, and knowing it is an illusion does not diminish the emotional response. Angelo Badalamenti's score creates a sonic landscape of dread and longing that has become inseparable from the Lynch aesthetic.
Fun Fact
The ABC network rejected the original pilot partly because executives found the pacing too slow and the narrative too confusing. French production company StudioCanal provided funding to expand it into a feature, giving Lynch the creative freedom that network television had denied him. Lynch has consistently refused to explain the film's meaning, stating only that 'the clues are all there.' The mysterious blue box and key were not in the original pilot; Lynch added them during the expansion to create the hinge between the two halves of the narrative. In 2016, a BBC critics' poll named it the greatest film of the twenty first century.
Parent Note
The film contains explicit sexual content between two women, nudity, scenes of intense psychological disturbance, a disturbing sequence behind a diner, and a graphic suicide. There is some violence and strong language. The nonlinear narrative structure may be frustrating for viewers who require clear plot resolution. Rated R. The film rewards patience and repeat viewings but is not for everyone. Best for viewers comfortable with ambiguity and mature content.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 2001
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Mystery / Thriller
- Age Group
- Adults (Ages 18+)