The Perfect Representation of a Dream

Rating: 10/10 (18 April 2020)

Mulholland Drive is arguably David Lynch's most well-known, recognized film. And this is for good reason: it's one of his few stories that makes complete sense. The widely held theory that the first four fifths of the movie is a dream that the character in the last fifth of the movie is having is the one that I subscribe to. It makes the entire story have a united plot, and ultimately, it makes rewatching it all the more tragic.
A derelict, washed out actress named Diane Selwyn lusts for Camilla Rhodes, another actress who was thrust into fame by narrowly getting the lead role that Diane auditioned for. The two are friends, but Camilla is getting married to the director of her film, Adam Kesher. Diane, in a moment of anger, hires an assassin to kill Camilla. The night after Camilla has been killed, Diane has a dream of guilt in an attempt to rewrite the relationship between herself and Camilla. In her dream, she's a bright-eyed, ambitious newcomer to LA named Betty, and Camilla is an amnesiac, dubbed Rita, who's helpless and must stay under Betty's care. Adam Kesher is also in the dream, having what appears to be the single worst day of his life as he goes through misfortune after misfortune. Diane even attempts to rectify Camilla's assassination by portraying the hitman she hired as a bumbling, terrible killer - perhaps to convince herself that Camilla somehow got away safe.
The masterful thing about this film isn't just how Lynch captures the tone and surreality of dreams, but how he makes everything seem so natural and unquestioned (just like while you're in the middle of a dream). When Betty moves into her aunt's apartment in LA, the landlord notes that another tenant used to have a "prize-fighting kangaroo" in his room. It's a one-off line, but no one questions a thing, and it's delivered in such a way that even the audience doesn't recognize the absurdity of the statement. Little things are off - people laugh for a moment more than they should, phrases are repeated like chants, and a triviality like espresso being bad can cause a catastrophe for the entire city. Every scene has you on the edge of your seat because you genuinely don't know what will happen next in this almost-normal, but slightly off world. It's a film that you can watch over and over again because the ride is just so entertaining.
Mulholland Drive is the best David Lynch film, in my opinion. He creates a tragic mystery of projection and rejection, of love and hatred, with enough subtle clues to keep things grounded and provide excellent fodder for rewatch.