My opinion of the summary of events (SPOILERS)

Rating: 7/10 (10 June 2004)

Betty for most of the film is very happy, cut-outs of Betty show her very happy, living life as a celebrity as she wanted to, although this "life" maybe a tribute to her as she couldn't be/was in her dream. We then go to back to look at her life and how she came to die. Interestingly this last sentence summarises what happens in Sunset Blvd., Lynch hammered home this point by showing said names street sign. The multiple images of her, in the opening scene indicate the many personas she possesses. Any the picture with the grandparents shows which one she is with in this dream. The funky dance scene as the opening scene shows the magic involved when someone first dies, its a little hard to adjust, this also is shown by the blurry images in the film and the morphing acts demonstrated.
The music video "Let Forever Be" by the Chemical Brothers was made 12 months or so before Mulholland Dr. and is identical to the opening scene, its about a girl waking from a dream, to find multiple cardboard copies of herself (they come to life) and go-go dance, its trippy, like the film. The black faeces by the dog in the beginning represents the early transition by the arrival of "Ruth" into Betty's dream, as the black represents acclimatisation to the new arrival. Just like heaven Ruth must pass through the gates at the start of the drive, these represent the pearly gates; it's a cleaner who she walks past (whom is there no expunge previous life experiences, which explains the amnesia). The car crash is at night and involves a black car; this black theme is continued here and with Cocos hair (almost can tell its dyed).
The blue box is a portal like in Donnie Darko, flashes of recollection appear and that is symbolised by the key to the box and the way to another place. It is also a reminder to leave the dream, as we are not supposed to dream forever, its like holding your breath under water - your diaphragm twitches to try and make you surface (I got a degree in Bio). The granny can represent Betty as the star whose made it, the glasses whom by her husband represent Adam and their children include the guy in Winkies (think about the store name), the cop searching for is in-fact his sister and the hairy troll thing that looks like Adam. The amnesia is also telling Betty that she cannot see herself as someone else, so its OK to dream, it also means she comes to terms with seeing herself dead on the bed, she dies in her sleep, the gun that went off is a tribute to the end of Fight Club. The time of dying is symbolised by the relatives (maybe herself) as the old people can represent life, but being white, she shouldn't be afraid, however the presence of old age in a dream is showing death, or the oncoming of it, which is why such goes into a dreamlike coma before dying.
The start of the dream is her being happy, as when you are dreaming you are happy, the almost over-acting my Naomi in the first act and smiley nature of 'arriving' in a dream is the first satisfaction of sleeping, as well as the first moment the endorphins are released. Later these hormones run out, she masturbates to try and return the pleasure. The blurry image whilst this is happening represents her mind trying to urge herself back into a happier dream, the blurry images are also in the morphing between world, the 'accidental' blurring of Ruth's character represents an aurora of pleasure, a zone/portal to another dream, a new "life" (womb) and the realisation that Ruth is not real, as really people are not blurry, coming to terms with this, she might in fact be masturbating in her sleep, even though we see her on the couch. The different colour scheme illustrates this. In the bed Ruth was dominant, on the couch Betty was (she is on top) and the camera angle is different. The blurry image of her rubbing herself is a change of intensity in the dream and a cry out for more passion. She is trying to will herself to shift to another world or destination by the power of emotion.
The "Silenco" man is a replica of the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret and he controls the whole show, the dream, recall he makes her shake in her chair and the constant reminder that she's in a dream, because the sounds were not real. Just as her visions were not real. The gangsters are now the hit man, consolidated into one image, the blond hit man. The espresso and the spilling of it, means the rich nature of the dream, and spitting it shows that it gets scary, almost like a nightmare. The use of Adams car as a convertible, means just that, he can change, he can become different sway views, he is influenced by the cowboy and to pick the girl. He sees Betty at the audition, neither have seen each other, Betty leaves, she is looking for a different dream then to win, although please discuss this point as well as the cop searching.
The hairy troll is showing by the guy in Winkies however we are supposed to believe that their is the reality, yet we don't have them in our reality, this is a world/dream that one of Naomi's characters have been in, yet isn't currently, this imbalance is shown by the paranoid status of some of the citizens in this world, this world (like in Revolutions) is becoming unstable and Betty might not be able to return, this explains why the name badge changes, why the troll is no longer a tramp, he might have evolved, or being corrupted by the box (like LOTR), and the breakdown in equilibrium is transmitted to other world 9(Ruth gets a headache), she undresses (black), she's in the shower, to cleanse herself for the new world and holds her head (from headache) as all is not right in other worlds. She wears the blonde wig, because she is becoming Betty, like the gangsters becoming the hit man and the combination of other events to trigger the end of this life for Betty/Ruth. The dog of Coco, do we see it much? Its dark matter produced is littering this world, anyone see any other dogs, this lack shows that they are not normally present. The affair with "Wash Gene" shows a change to the world that Adam is present in. He acknowledges it, realises he must then accept the girl (was it Naomi in the first image of the girl?) he is originally stubborn, but comes around, as its not his world, however in the dinner scene, it is a world where he was a greater power of influence in the hierarchy. The other avatars such as Adams wife, is another mention to trying to change, and also to stay with him. The neighbour of Betty is in actually Betty's real neighbour, but becomes the personality of Ruth to communication with her in the dream. * My post contains my opinion in a non-linear order, like the film * Scenes where there is little dialogue have other careful illustrations, and vice-versa (any film) [cheers]"this is it" "chew some gum your breath smells like my grandmothers feet" THE CHASE[jump4]