Unity of mind is the key

Rating: Null/10 (18 April 2002)

(********Semi-Spoiler*********) I say semi-spoiler because I give away little of what happens in the film, but only suggest an approach to solving the infuriating puzzle it presents. However, you may want to watch the movie for the first time without reading anything that would shape the experience for you.
Mulholand Dr. is about jealousy--sexual and professional--and its tragic consequences. There are (at least) two story threads that appear contradictory. The contradictions can be resolved by applying a variant of the classic Aristotelian unities of time, place and person: unity of mind. There is only one mind in this movie, the mind of the real protagonist, an aspiring young actress who has recently arrived in Hollywood. Everything in the movie happens in her mind, either as actual experience, something she was told (perhaps the brutal/comic hit man scene), dream, fantasy or delusion. And that, I believe, is the key to figuring out which is which.
One side note: I had to return the first video tape of Mulholand Dr. that I rented because the tape was damaged. This may not be a coincidence. I suspect tapes of this movie get a lot of wear and tear as viewers fast forward and rewind repeatedly, trying to unravel the mystery.