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Naomi Watts and Laura Harring star in the 2001 movie Mulholland Drive which has a perplexing but memorable ending that leaves audiences with a lot of questions. David Lynch's movies have unnerving characters, and the main characters in this film are no different. Mulholland Drive was released several decades after Lynch's first few movies Dune, Blue Velvet, and Lost Highway, which feels a lot like Silent Hill.
Since the first half of Mulholland Drive seems fairly logical and the second half changes everything that audiences thought that they knew, the ending definitely leaves an impression.
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How Does Mulholland Drive End?
There are several interpretations of Mulholland Drive's ending, but it becomes clear that the first part of the movie is Diane Selwyn's (Naomi Watts) dream world and the second part is what is actually true. David Lynch's Twin Peaks was ahead of its time, and Mulholland Drive has the same dreamy, dark, and sometimes confusing tone as the popular and clever TV series.
Diane wakes up in the same apartment that Rita and Betty visited earlier on in the film. Diane, who resembles Betty, is an actor having a hard time after being unable to find work. Diane is upset because of her feelings for famous and rich actress Camilla Rhodes (Laura Harring), who resembles Rita. Diane is distraught when she goes to a party that Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) hosts at his Mulholland Drive home and she finds out that Camilla and Adam are getting married.
Mulholland Drive Director | David Lynch |
|---|---|
Writer | David Lynch |
Cast Members | Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Robert Forster, Ann Miller, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux |
Runtime | 146 minutes |
Release Date | October 12th, 2001 |
Metacritic Score | 86 |
Where To Watch | Paramount+ |
When Diane gets back home, her coffee table has a blue key, which is symbolic and memorable. When she hired a hitman to murder Camilla, he let her know that if she saw a blue key in her apartment, that would signal the fact that he had killed Camilla. Diane ends her life by shooting herself in bed as she can't take the visions that she has anymore. In the final scene, a woman who has blue hair says "Silencio" at the movie theater. This suggests that Diane is going to die.
While many David Lynch movies are hard to follow, the truth about Diane is explained in the movie. Diane's aunt passed away and she moved to California from Canada. She put all of her hopes into an acting career and a romance with Camilla. When this didn't happen, the trauma affected her and caused her to create a dream world where she imagined terrible things.
What Is Mulholland Drive About?
The first half of Mulholland Drive helps explain the ending. However, just like the mystery of Twin Peaks will never be fully explained, Mulholland Drive will always remain a fairly confusing story.
In 2018, David Lynch spoke to Vulture about a list of 10 things to keep in mind when watching Mulholland Drive, and these are helpful ways to keep the different characters and storylines straight. Lynch said:
“So this thing happened that ‘Mulholland Drive’ was a big success in France and I was asked if I could come up with these 10 short clues to the movie. Normally, I would’ve said no, but—and I don’t know why—I came up with things that people could think about when they watched it. But I thought the clues were only going to exist in France and then it blossomed on the internet—that’s what I mean about the world getting smaller—and people started asking me for more clues.”
One of Lynch's clues was "Who gives a key, and why?" The blue key appears at the beginning of Mulholland Drive and is one reason why the movie's ending is fairly satisfying.
When the movie opens, there has been a car accident on Mulholland Drive. Betty Elms sees someone who calls herself Rita in her aunt's apartment. She sees a blue key in the purse that belongs to Rita, which will become important later on. Rita and Betty bond as Betty tries to become an actress, and they sleep together.
The two characters try to solve the mystery of a woman named Diane Selwyn when, of course, this is "Betty." When they go to her apartment, someone else who lives in the building says that they swapped places. They find a dead body in Diane's apartment, which many believe is symbolic of the fact that Betty/Diane will die at the end of Mulholland Drive. There is also a plotline involving members of the mob wanting Adam to cast Camilla in his movie The Sylvia North Story, but this seems to be all in Diane's mind as well.
What is Mulholland Drive's Rotten Tomatoes Score?
Mulholland Drive has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 84%, which is very high and speaks to the popularity of David Lynch's movies like Dune. The film also has an 87% Audience Score. The performances are strong and the movie has some memorable quotes that speak to the theme, like when Betty says:
"It'll be just like in the movies. We'll pretend to be someone else."
Mulholland Drive tells a clever story about aspiring actors, life in Hollywood, and the desire for fame and fortune that many people have.
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