Mulholland Drive ...........
Jul. 10th, 2004 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
What the hell happened in this movie???
Immediately after it was done, I was like :O, and then I went to my computer and Googled "What the hell happened in Mulholland Drive?" Because I have no clue. I mean, I can guess at some stuff, but none of it really makes sense or puts all the pieces of the puzzle together.
The weird thing? I liked it. <g>
Regardless of what really went down in the last half hour or whatever, the film was just really well done. The pacing was tight and suspenseful, I was totally into the story, I was on tenterhooks to see what would happen next, etc. etc. I'm not saying it was a great movie or anything. I'm just pointing out that it must have done something right, because I should have been disgusted with it.
While it would have been nice to have an ending that made total sense and wrapped everything up neatly ... it was, in a way, good that it didn't. At some point, I knew there was going to be a twist that revealed how people weren't who they said they were, and most especially, how everyone was tied together. But it's not connected all that well, and they never explain how it all happened or why or ... anyway, this is where the WTF? comes in.
Here's the thing: Secret Window had me intrigued, too, until they 'explained' everything. And then it just became a stupid movie. From the looks of things, if they'd done that w/ MD, it would have sounded trite and unbelievable, so David Lynch opted for the enigmatic route.
What's the saying ... Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt? Might apply here, I think. <g>
As one reviewer says: ... this film could have been unendurable and truly awful. Yet, Lynch somehow pulls it off. The awkwardness of the dialogue and the character interactions creates a sense of eerie-ness and foreboding that allow the plot great liberty with facts. Even though neither Betty nor Rita know why they should be afraid, nor does the audience, the film creates a sense that there is something to fear. And though the plot threads remain loose and often incoherent, half the fun of the show is trying to piece together the action.
Still ... if anyone has theories about what exactly happened, I'd love to hear your take.
In other news, yet another of my credit cards randomly upgraded my account to platinum and sent a new card. What is the DEAL? I suppose I should just be grateful I received it this time. 8-|
Immediately after it was done, I was like :O, and then I went to my computer and Googled "What the hell happened in Mulholland Drive?" Because I have no clue. I mean, I can guess at some stuff, but none of it really makes sense or puts all the pieces of the puzzle together.
The weird thing? I liked it. <g>
Regardless of what really went down in the last half hour or whatever, the film was just really well done. The pacing was tight and suspenseful, I was totally into the story, I was on tenterhooks to see what would happen next, etc. etc. I'm not saying it was a great movie or anything. I'm just pointing out that it must have done something right, because I should have been disgusted with it.
While it would have been nice to have an ending that made total sense and wrapped everything up neatly ... it was, in a way, good that it didn't. At some point, I knew there was going to be a twist that revealed how people weren't who they said they were, and most especially, how everyone was tied together. But it's not connected all that well, and they never explain how it all happened or why or ... anyway, this is where the WTF? comes in.
Here's the thing: Secret Window had me intrigued, too, until they 'explained' everything. And then it just became a stupid movie. From the looks of things, if they'd done that w/ MD, it would have sounded trite and unbelievable, so David Lynch opted for the enigmatic route.
What's the saying ... Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt? Might apply here, I think. <g>
As one reviewer says: ... this film could have been unendurable and truly awful. Yet, Lynch somehow pulls it off. The awkwardness of the dialogue and the character interactions creates a sense of eerie-ness and foreboding that allow the plot great liberty with facts. Even though neither Betty nor Rita know why they should be afraid, nor does the audience, the film creates a sense that there is something to fear. And though the plot threads remain loose and often incoherent, half the fun of the show is trying to piece together the action.
Still ... if anyone has theories about what exactly happened, I'd love to hear your take.
In other news, yet another of my credit cards randomly upgraded my account to platinum and sent a new card. What is the DEAL? I suppose I should just be grateful I received it this time. 8-|
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no subject
Date: 2004-07-10 11:09 am (UTC)I will preface by saying that I actually liked it, too, but I'm also irritated by it at the same time, mostly because it was a little too incoherent and loose, and I feel like David Lynch didn't even know what was really going on. I think you're probably right, re: Secret Window, and how it went all wrong by explaining itself/being lame, but I think MD didn't go quite far enough -- surely there's some sort of balance between trite and total incoherence. *g*
That said, here's my theory:
The beginning of the story is at the end, naturally, with Diane having Camilla killed. This is "reality." She hires that guy, and then goes to sleep that night and proceeds to have a dream. The dream is the rest of the movie, incorporating little details from "real" life and manipulating them until they present the picture of herself, and her world, Diane most wants. Betty is a brilliant actress who is loved and adored by all; Diane is not. Rita needs/loves Betty the way Camilla never needed/loved Diane.
The thing that doesn't hold up is the idea of the box, and the creepy guy, and the old people. I don't know wtf that was all about. It could just be bizarre dream images/Diane's subconscious mind trying to assign something for the blue key to open, so it represents more than Camilla's death. I would like to sit down with David Lynch and have him explain the whole thing to me.
Basically, Lynch is a really good filmmaker; he uses the camera in every way possible, he makes things feel really creepy, and sets his scenes so they pop. The way he structured everything, and dressed it up, is the only thing that saves it from being a mess. At least, on first view. This is probably one of those movies that, if you watch it over and over, you eventually piece together exactly what happened, but the real trick is making the viewer like it enough to care to know wtf happened, which I think DL succeeded at.
Wait, I take it back, I don't think I need to sit down with Lynch, because this guy explains it really well. I concur with him. *g* I Googled "mulholland drive theories" and came up gold. If he's right, it really is fucking brilliant; if he and I are just projecting, it's still probably brilliant, because what's better than not having a clue what you're doing, and people assigning genius to it?
no subject
Date: 2004-07-10 03:51 pm (UTC)Basically, The first half of the movie was a dream/fantasy of Hollywood, and the second half is the gritty reality.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-11 04:01 am (UTC)