Cinematography – The composition of shots in the film create intertextual references to the work of artist Edward Hopper, giving scenes set in the modern day a 1950s aesthetic. This perhaps suggests to the audience that the events are taking place in a ‘dream world’ or Diane’s mind as opposed to real life.

Mise en scene – The emptiness of shots in Mulholland Drive, especially in the scene depicting the Hollywood executives watching events unfold from a secret room, create a tense and confusing tone. The large amounts of space come across as unsettling and make the characters in frame look distant, reinforced by Lynch’s choice to give actor Michael J. Anderson, who is 3ft 7, fake legs to make him appear taller.

Sound – In the scene where Diane is haunted by the old couple, a combination of sounds including knocking at the door, the laughter of the couple, Diane’s screaming and a distorted instrumental track. This makes Diane’s deteriorating and guilt-ridden mental state clear to spectators and how tormented she is by her own actions.

Editing – The cut between Diane at Adam and Camilla’s party and Diane sat in the diner with the hitman, which is prompted by the sound of smashing plates, may be used in order to reinforce the idea of Diane’s troubled mental state and how her mind is constantly on other things.

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.

How does Lynch make use of or subvert traditional narrative techniques to tell the story? – In order to make the surrealist elements of Mulholland Drive clear, David Lynch presents the film in a non-linear order, especially in the final act depicting the ‘real world’. The film uses many narrative devices, such as a McGuffin in the form of a blue box and key, which acts as the bridge between the unconscious mind and conscious one. Subplots are also present throughout the film such as the men in the diner coming face to face with the monster and Adam, the director, growing frustrated with Hollywood executives.

Industrial Contexts – Mulholland Drive was initially filmed as a 90-minute television pilot in 1999, although executives that were shown the pilot hated it and immediately cancelled the series. David Lynch subsequently gained the funding from production company StudioCanal to conduct reshoots in order to complete the pilot as a feature film, with the reshoots taking place over a year after initial filming began.

Socio-Political and Cultural Contexts – Lynch uses Mulholland Drive to criticise how young women are mistreated by misogynistic executives in the filmmaking industry, which was important in a time in which higher-ups in Hollywood included the likes of Harvey Weinstein. Additionally, he reinforces his frustration with the industry through the character of Adam, a director who loses his creative freedom at the hands of executives who call the shots.

Score – 9/10

A memorable scene for me is the one in which the blue box is unlocked and the audience are introduced to Diane, who had previously been known as Betty. This is memorable as the characters are almost complete opposites of one another, sharing the same appearance.

Iconic Image:

Sisters in Law can be applied to documentary theorist Kim Longinotto, since she (alongside Florence Ayisi) directed the film. The documentary adopts Longinotto’s traditional observational filmmaking mode, since the events play out naturally without the director feeling the need to step in and make herself known to the audience at any point. Additionally, the subject of the documentary links to feminist solidarity, as spectators follow the story of two women working in the patriarchal Cameroonian legal system.

Michael Moore, on the other hand, directs films that follow a performative mode of documentary. This means that the director actively gets involved in the events he is documenting to pursue personal quests. Moore uses unconventional elements such as humour and highly creative techniques (such as animated sequences) in order to entertain the audiences.

Nick Broomfield also actively gets involved in front of the camera, as well as directly explaining the narrative to spectators in order to make his films accessible. The director uses a chaotic style of filmmaking, heavy in handheld camera movements and getting himself involved in highly dangerous situations for the purpose of documenting them to audiences.

An example of a dream/vision-like twist is in Beau is Afraid (2023) directed by Ari Aster. Towards the conclusion of the film, as Beau is sailing away in an attempt to escape from the chaotic events he’s just experienced, the surrounding (seemingly outdoors) area suddenly lights up to reveal that he is trapped in an Arena, in which he is then put on trial.

How do the directors use cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing to create meaning in the film?

Cinematography – The use of left and right side shots depending on who is speaking on the courtroom scene is effective as it makes clear to the audience that either speaker is on different sides of the same case, creating the idea of binary opposites between prosecutor and defendant, as well as woman vs man.

Mise en Scene – The items on Vera’s desk in her office consist of documents, a dictionary and a phone. These being spread out the way they are all over the desk build the idea that she is a hard worker who is always busy with cases, and does not have time to neatly organise her belongings.

Sound – Non-diegetic sound is only used twice in the film, those times being at the very beginning of the documentary, where spectators are being introduced to the town for the first time, and the final scene in which Vera is teaching the class about how the two domestic abuse cases that she was involved in led to the first convictions for the crime in 17 years. The music returning for this scene reminds audiences of how much has changed throughout the events of the documentary and how monumental Vera and Beatrice’s work has been.

Editing – As Manka is brought into Vera’s office by Stephen for the first time, cross-cutting is used throughout the scene in order for the audience to see Vera’s shocked reactions as Stephen and Manka explain the suffering she has experienced at the hands of her stepsister (thought to be her auntie at the time). The shock spectators see from Vera reinforces the idea that surprise and emotion (both upset and disgust) still comes with her job despite it being part of her day to day activities.

How are the following groups represented in the documentary and what is the intended impact on the spectator?

Women – In Sisters in Law, women are represented as having had enough with the patriarchal society in place which has led to them being beaten, sexually abused and sold to men for marriage among many other criminal acts. Spectators see both female victims of mistreatment, such as Amina, who have been pushed to the point that she is terrified to even see her abusive husband, as well as defenders of the victims, like Vera, who is willing to stand up to men in order to get justice for her clients.

Men – Most men in Sisters in Law are represented as being cruel to women and patriarchal in beliefs that they ‘own’ the women in their lives. This can be seen with people such as the man at the beginning who is attempting to get custody of a child he had with his wife, who had been forced to marry him after a sale between the man and the woman’s father. However, this doesn’t apply to Stephen, who breaks the expectations set in the film by being compassionate to Manka, a young child abused by a family member.

Children – Children, specifically young girls, are represented as being vulnerable in a society full of cruelty and brutality. We see this both with Manka, who was taken from her family by her abusive stepsister following the death of her mum, and Sonita, a 9 year old who was raped by a neighbour.

Muslim People – Muslim people, specifically men, use their religion as a method to almost trap women in situations they don’t want to be in, as seen when the male lawyer attempts to get a domestic abuse case overturned due to Muslim beliefs surrounding divorce.

How do the directors use aesthetics (I.e. the ‘look and feel’ of the film) to create a specific message for the audience? – By avoiding an attempt to depict Kumba Town in a glamorous manner, the social realism presenting the area as an underdeveloped and poverty-high part of Cameroon is reinforced in order to emphasise to audiences what kind of conditions the subjects of the documentary are living in. This links to Longinotto’s auteur trademark of observational filmmaking.