Social / Institutional / Political

• Mulholland Drive is a satire on Hollywood. Lynch, an auteur with a unique and bizarre vision, has often struggled to get financing and support from Hollywood studios.

• Mulholland Drive originally started as a pilot for a TV show, though it was abruptly axed only weeks into production, Lynch turned the existing footage and some extra scenes into a feature film.

• An obvious comment on this would be struggles of Adam, the director character in Mulholland Drive in the surreal and shadowy Hollywood system.

• Movements like #MeToo (2006) and #TimesUp (2018) have drawn attention to sexism and misogyny in the film industry, though predating these movements, Mulholland Drive is critical of the way the Hollywood system treats people, and young woman particularly.

• The portrayal of fame, celebrity and the entertainment industry in film is shown to dehumanise people.

Cultural

• Mulholland Drive is surrealist, inspired by the European surrealist movement of the 1920s – 1950s with the aim to unite the conscious and unconscious mind.

• The film can be categorised as part of the American postmodern film movement of the 1990s/early 2000s.

• Diane’s world is hyper-real; the narrative is disjointed, and the film contains intertextual references.

• The plot is somewhat inspired by Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950) another film noir about a desperate actress in Hollywood, set on an intersecting road to Mulholland.

• There are also references to Gilda (Vidor, 1946) and the paintings of Edward Hopper.

Uncanniness

Lynch makes an effort to create a feeling of uncanniness throughout the film. He does this because it will create an unsettled audience and create a memorable experience. He creates this effect by using subtle details such as wide still camera shots frequently. This creates a feeling of emptiness and the space presented could potentially unsettle the audience.

Doppelganger

Lynch showcases this by presenting a near identical and exact double of a living person. For example, the waitress working at the winkies looks identical to our main protagonist Diane. As well as Camila’s transformation looking like Diane. These doppelgangers create deeper meaning and showcase how the characters change throughout the film.

Heightened Performance

Every character in the movie is over the top and theatrical to a comical point. I believe this was not only done deliberately in order to make the film memorable. Instead I opt for the opinion that the characters are theatrical because it is Diane’s idea of what Hollywood is like. This false reality manifests into an almost too energetic world.

Tarnished Idealism

The idealisation of Hollywood is distorted throughout the film which portrays the company as a much darker and sinister organisation. We see this through scenes such as Director Adam Kesher being peer pressured and not getting creative freedom of his film. We also see this with Diane calling a hit on Rita due to jealousy.

Lynchian refers to the mood and aesthetic found in most David Lynch films. Usually, it is used to label something which has a dark, ominous tone with a surrealist feeling. Lynchian can also describe the dark underbelly of something which seems innocent on its surface (as Lynch repeatedly investigates). But Lynchian isn’t just about themes, it can also apply to eerie visuals and unsettling sounds.

Uncanniness – the fact of being strange and mysterious often in a way that’s slightly frightening

Use of doppelgangers – someone who looks spookily like you but isn’t a twin, usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck

Ominous sound design – vital in setting an ominous tone so the audience know something bad is going to happen

Heightened performances – acting is very over the top or theatrical to intensify a scene

Themes of tarnished idealism – a theme where characters or narratives start with high hopes or noble ideals, but those ideals are ultimately challenged or corrupted by harsh realities

Uncanniness – Unsettling audiences and creating an almost frightening sense of mystery. For example, this can be seen in Mulholland Drive in the shots depicting the Hollywood executives watching on from an almost empty, darkened room.

Use of doppelgangers – Based on German myth around how people will one day meet someone that shares their exact appearance. This can be seen in Mulholland Drive with two characters sharing actors, such as Diane and Betty.

Ominous sound design – The likes of backing tracks that make scenes more nerve-wracking and uncomfortable. This can be seen in Mulholland Drive where the sound of the old people’s laughter is loud and distorted.

Heightened Performances – Exaggerated, over the top behaviour in acting. Audiences see this with the monster scene, in which the man from the diner enters an immese state of shock and fear, so much so that he collapses.

Theme of tarnished idealism – The transformation of characters from innocent and wholesome to corrupted and against the world. ‘Betty’ is presented as an aspirational actress who comes across as friendly and positive, whereas ‘Diane’ is bitter and resorts to placing a hit on Camilla to try and make herself feel better.

Lynchian Elements:

• Uncanniness – The feeling of confused uncertainty. strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way.

E.g.

Through the use of uncanniness, the shot positioning of the normal alley way is given an unsettling atmosphere due to mystery as to what is behind it, which is broken with the reveal of the bum. This is purposefully used by Lynch to confuse and keep the spectator unknowing of what is to come.

• Use of Doppelgangers – From the German Myth, 2 of you exist which at some stage you’ll meet. Another version of you.

E.g.

With the reveal of the real Betty at the end, the use of Doppelgangers is used to show Diane’s transformation of her identity into this new persona. This is a common trope within Lynch’s films and makes it reveal a shock value to the viewer.

• Ominous sound design – Unsettling music or noises to create fear or anxiety.

E.g.

The use of ominous sound design is used with the creepy distorted laughter of the old couple. Through this, lynch creates anxiety from the spectators as to what it may connote and what it used for.

• Heightened performances – Melodramatic acting used with significance to create an enigmatic meaning.

E.g.

With the dramatic singing in Club Silencio, this is a good example of a heightened performance as its prominent usage is done only once in the film. With alterations made to the original song such as the lyrics being in Spanish, their translated meaning relates and influences the plot heavily.

• Theme of tarnished idealism – Portrays the character in a poorer state or fall from grace.

E.g.

With the switch up of character personalities, Betty’s conversion into Diane shows her development from the dream-like world she has created into a more unforgiving reality. This is used by Lynch to possibly target Hollywood as showing a false-front has been common in the industry to cover-up .