Cinematography

I believe that the cinematography of the film is best described as off-putting. I believe this is due to Lynch’s intense usage of wide shots and still camera shots. This makes the film seem unnatural and uncanny which is a subtle hint towards the films dreamlike atmosphere. An excellent scene that represents this is when director Adam Kesher was selecting candidates for his film and is observing a young actress. Their is a solid minute of her staring directly into the camera singing as if she is singing to the audience. This adds to the unease that the film presents.

Mise en Scene

The characters outfits, car and buildings are all reflective of that of a 1950’s Hollywood era. I believe that this era was used due to the nostalgia element as well as it being useful to showcase the change of Diane’s character. We see how at first she has a very feminine look and appears to be attractive. This look shifts when she becomes jealous Camila and appears to be dirty and aggressive looking.

We see their outfits are expressive and vibrant which may be a hint towards the dream sequence idea the film is trying to present. There outfits seem almost unreal as if not many would wear them which could be a subtle hint to the dream world fabricated by Diane.

Sound

The sound of the film is very abstract and features a distortion of sounds in order to cause unsettlement within the audience. This is evidenced in the Scene where Diane is haunted by the old couple, the scene features a combination of sound including the knocking of a door, the laughter of a couple and Diane screaming. This makes Diane’s ruined mental state appear more vibrant to the audience.

Editing

A great way to describe the editing is the reflective of its characters mental states. A great way to showcase this is by showing the scene where Diane and the hitman’s conversation. This scene is co cut between the a scene with Diane at director Adam Kesler’s party. We see the cut start when a plate is smashed which could be used to represent Diane’s troubled mental state and how she is overthinking.

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.

Lynch makes uses of a ambitious mysterious plot deliberately to cause confusion among the audience and make the film hard to follow. Their is no clear explanation of the plot or conclusion. This gives the film a lot of re watch value.

The experimental narratives works as the film is split into self contained story scenes. None of the scenes feel connected which adds to the mystery and leaves the point of the film up into interpretation from the audience.

The 21st century was a period of rapid change and experimental movements which largely impacted the production and ideas presented in Lynches 2001 production Mulholland Drive. These include the social, institutional and political aspects which all greatly affected the film.

Firstly, the Me Too movement was a social movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment overall problems with the days misogynistic issues. This is where people spoke out and published their experiences of sexual abuse other problems linked to their gender.

The movement drew attention to sexism and misogyny in the film industry. Lynch used Mullholland Drive in order to be critical of the way Hollywood system treats people, especially young women. It presents the idea that the audience should consider how the industry dehumanises people.

Overall i am giving the film a 6/10. The film’s best aspect was its cinematography. This enhanced the film and made it seem offputing due to the way it was shot. A majority of the scenes were filmed with Full Shots and a still camera. The rare usage of tracking shots and cuts made the conversations seem uncofortable and heightened tenisons for the auidence.

A downside of the film was that it was extremely hard to follow. The film’s rapid changes of scenes made it hard to find out what the character arcs and conclusions actually meant. On multiple re watches I believe it will be easier to understand.

My iconic scene is the higher ups of the meeting about a directors movie. We see this deformed man with a close up shot which is designed to shock the audience.

Women

The doccumentary is a largely feminist based production, it’s directors , Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto, are both women who created the doccumentary in order to present the crimes against women and children in the community. Due to this women in the film are presented with a position of power such as the Judge which is a controversial among the Sharia Law that believes women shouldn’t have independence. This patriarchal view is disapproved in the production as we see women having power and punishing men who harm the innocent.

Men

A majority of the men in the documentary are presented with a negative view. This is due to the patriarchal society of Kumba which is responsible for the mistreatment of women. This is due to dated traditions such as the Sharia Law which limits women’s rights and freedoms. Men in the documentary commit unspeakable crimes and take advantage of various women and are overall presented in a negative fashion.

Children

Children in the film suffer immense crimes committed against them. There is multiple cases of domestic abuse and sexual assault committed against children committed in the film. One such case is Manka who is beat viciously by her own Aunt. We see the scars left from the beatings which shows the harsh reality of these less regulated towns

Muslims

Muslims are mistreated often by their husbands and other family relations. This is due to Sharia Law which views women as property of their husband. Due to this viewpoint they are taken advantage of and often denied divorce leaving them with no choice but to stay with their abusive husbands.

Love death and robots Art of Love (2020)

Black Mirror Bandersnatch

Overall I’m giving the film a 7/10. I thought that the film had good pacing depicting violent imagery and unexplainable events. It offered many iconic scenes and was a masterpiece for its time.

An iconic scene for me is the eyeball scene due to the unfiltered horror elements projected on screen.

The Broken Column 1944, Frida Kahlo

Henry Ford hospital 1932 Frida Kahlo

Overall I will be giving the music video a 6/10. It was hard to distinguish what the message of the video was and what it was trying to say. It featured a random collage of strange events that were showcased in a montage style editing. One thing I can credit the film for is its pacing as it never felt boring at any point.