Mulholland Drive (2001)
"Mulholland Dr." (original title)

After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch

Stars:

Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 40 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Naomi Watts	...	Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn
Laura Harring	...	Rita (as Laura Elena Harring)
Ann Miller	...	Catherine 'Coco' Lenoix
Dan Hedaya	...	Vincenzo Castigliane
Justin Theroux	...	Adam Kesher
Brent Briscoe	...	Detective Neal Domgaard
Robert Forster	...	Detective Harry McKnight
Katharine Towne	...	Cynthia Jenzen
Lee Grant	...	Louise Bonner
Scott Coffey	...	Wilkins
Billy Ray Cyrus	...	Gene
Chad Everett	...	Jimmy Katz
Rita Taggart	...	Linney James
James Karen	...	Wally Brown
Lori Heuring	...	Lorraine Kesher

Storyline

A bright-eyed young actress travels to Hollywood, only to be ensnared in a dark conspiracy involving a woman who was nearly murdered, and now has amnesia because of a car crash. Eventually, both women are pulled into a psychotic illusion involving a dangerous blue box, a director named Adam Kesher, and the mysterious night club Silencio.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | amnesia | california | car accident | los angeles california | 

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Taglines:

Beware what you dream for...

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some strong sexuality

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 November 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Mulholland Drive

Filming Locations:

3400 N Beachwood Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£134,798 (UK) (4 January 2002)

Gross:

$7,219,578 (USA) (3 May 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Alain Sarde, Asymmetrical Productions, Babbo Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of the 17 tracks featured on the Mulholland Dr. CD, only track ('Diane & Camilla') is omitted from the film's soundtrack. Conversely, from the film's soundtrack, only track ('Sixteen Reasons') is omitted from the Mulholland Dr. CD.

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Goofs

The Sony-brand telephone that Betty and Rita use to call Diane Selwyn has separate buttons for 'on' and 'off' functions. However, Betty presses the 'on' button to turn the phone off following the call.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Betty Elms: Oh! I can't believe it!

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Crazy Credits

Credits have the movie director's name as 'Bob Booker' (not 'Brooker' as we hear). Furthermore, many of the characters' names are simply not mentioned at all during the course of the film (Billy Deznutz, Joe Messing, Bondar, etc.) but their character's names are all listed in the closing credits.

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Connections

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

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Soundtracks

"The Beast"
By Dave Cavanaugh
Performed by Milt Buckner
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
Used by permission of Beechwood Music Corp.

User Reviews

love lynch, or hate lynch, admit he's a master

"twin peaks" and "blue velvet" have always been two of my favourite pieces of film-making, and even though past films by lynch have been slightly disappointing for me they have always been worth watching a number of times. to be pretentious, lynch can be like a good wine - he must be savoured and mulled over. but in the end you must make up your own mind about what you have seen, for lynch never gives you the full answers.

many people will walk out of "mulholland drive" possibly wanting to throttle themselves over the mind-bending visual jigsaw puzzle that has just unfolded before them. but there is a twisted logic to this film, you just have to look for the clues. betty (naomi watts) arrives in hollywood, doe-eyed and in search of stardom. she then finds an amnesiac in her bathroom who has escaped from an attempted murder on mulholland drive. together they try to uncover the secrets behind the amnesiac's life. this all leads to a club called silencio, where a blue box will reveal all. and that is when the film throws everything out the window. people we thought we knew are entirely different people altogether... is it a dream? a reminiscence about life's previous escapades? you will either love this film or hate it. david lynch always draws such extreme reactions from his viewers. but as his universe itself is always about extremes, it is fitting that his films provoke such reactions.

It is best to look at this film thematically, rather than as a straight-forward narrative. and appreciate the fact that lynch is a film-maker who will still let you draw your own conclusions. he has had many imitators as of late, particularly in "vanilla sky", where a mind-bending film decides to give you all the answers in the last rushed five minutes, and you will probably forget about that film as soon as you walk out of the cinema. mulholland drive will haunt you.