Silencio!

Rating: Null/10 (30 June 2008)

'Mulholland Drive' resembles a detailed painting, one that is better understood with repeated viewing as more details are discovered. Though the story's straightforward, it unfolds its layers with each viewing. It resembles a beautiful dream/nightmare. The varied camera-work, the haunting score, the effective lighting and use of colour, the amazing art direction and special effects are all part of the stylish execution. The acting is overall excellent. Naomi Watts completely nails her part with a nuanced performance of a tormented character. Laura Elena Harring is sensational as the sensual Camilla. Justin Theroux and Ann Miller are superb in their strong parts.
The story's not told in the conventional fashion. It starts off with a dream sequence (that comprises the entire first half). Every single character is relevant. Lynch leaves subtle hints for the viewer to put together. The dialogues set the tone (humorous or intense or horrifying) and add to the characters.
The film starts off with a 60's dancing competition where a happy Diane and an elderly couple (her parents) are present. Later we are told that she won at a jitterbug competition before moving to L.A. This sequence is followed by a red bedcover and a red pillow. The camera zooms in on the pillow until it's black (marking the beginning of Diane's dream. The flashy words 'Mulholland Drive' appear on a signboard.
This is what really happens: Diane Selwyn, an aspiring actress, moves to L.A. with the hope of getting recognized as 'a good actress and a star'. She fails to succeed and struggles with her career. At an audition she meets Camilla (Harring). They hit it off and through Camilla's help, Diane gets bit roles in her films. Selwyn falls in love with her. But, Diane isn't the only person in Camilla's life. There's also another woman and a man (a director). Diane is shattered when the director announces his engagement with Camilla. She hires a hit-man to kill Camilla but is tormented by guilt thereafter and loses herself in a dream where she sees a better version of things. But, even in this state she's reminded of her real self and it becomes purgatory. She ends up killing herself.
The dream-sequence: Diane sees herself as Betty (the name was actually of a waitress she met at Winkies. She sees this waitress again in the dream but this time her name is Diane-a reminder of her real self). Here, Diane's a different person in contrast to her real self. Betty's more naive, vivacious, kind and successful. Her first audition is perfect. Not only will she win the part (as she's praised by everyone) but she is recommended to bigger producers. Yet, she's loyal to Camilla (as she rushes back home to help her).
The car accident's Diane's wishful thinking that the hit didn't go through and Camilla lives but loses her memory as a result of which she becomes dependent on her and develops a new identity (a new desirable version of Camilla). Diane sees Camilla as her doll (Lynch's own reference). Camilla assumes the name of Rita (Rita Hayworth is the star Diane aspired to be like). Then there's Betty's Aunt's home. Wishful thinking perhaps that if Diane had a relative from the film fraternity, who helped her out and recommended her to directors, her career would have flourished? This fantasy home's a 'safe' haven for her and Camilla. This Aunt may have actually existed and Diane's real house belonged to her. Camilla finds money, the same money Diane paid the hit-man, in her purse. The money is returned to her as the hit's unsuccessful. The Winkies scene where a guy talks about his recurring nightmare of a scary-looking man outside Winkies, the man represents Diane's dark side.
The director is quite a mess in Diane's dream (her way of punishing him). In the audition scene he stares at Diane. She is the object of his attraction (in reality he's smitten about Camilla and ignores Diane). Coco remains a strong figure. In reality, she looks down at Diane but in the dream, she's polite though she expresses her disapproval of Camilla (when in reality she disapproves Diane). The hit-man is sloppy (another part of Diane's wishful thinking?). The mysterious guy in the wheelchair takes control of the events in Diane's dream. The old couple could be Diane's parents and she probably had a terrible, maybe abusive, relationship with them as they torment her in the end scene. The fantasy couple are supportive strangers but once they get in the car their evil grin hints Diane's nightmarish purgatory. The cowboy's a clever touch by Lynch. He tells the director that if he does good, he'll appear once but if he does bad, he'll appear twice. Diane sees him twice because he was in the party (another reminder). The corpse in the house is Diane. The word 'Silencio' is repeated by Rita when she's at a state between wakefulness and sleep. The theatre play represents the nearing end of Diane's restless sleep. Betty's trembling signifies that she's about to wake up.
The key and the blue box brings us to the reality in the movie. This box is held by the scary-man at the end. It may represent Camilla's protected life and her life is gone once it's unlocked. A more obvious symbolism's Pandora's box. It may represent Diane's purgatory. It could refer to the black box theory which states that the mind's fully understood once all's defined (except that this dark blue box suggests that not everything is clearly defined).
I had a very different interpretation (which I won't mention) of this movie after first viewing (5 years ago). I revisited it yesterday, as I bought the special edition DVD and my first interpretation changed because the clues made better sense with this version. Perhaps, this too will change after subsequent viewing even though I'm quite satisfied with it now. What a movie, eh!