David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2002) is a Mystery Thriller, full of plot twists and strange events that will undoubtedly leave any audience questioning what really happened by the end of it. This is a film that needs to be watched all the way through in order for all events to make more sense, while at the same time causing you to re-evaluate the story you thought you were following at first.
The first way in which Mulholland Drive is postmodern is the fragmentation that makes up the film. Multiple characters are introduced into the story at one point or another and then instead of finding out more about them or even their relevance to the story, instead we are suddenly moved back to other characters. This leaves the events of the story feeling aleatoric and disconnected from one another.
Another reason is the way in which Lynch fools the audience, ultimately the film does show a lot of events unfold that are not in reality, although more importantly he gives this away to us simply at the beginning of the film, yet it still flies right past the viewers. One of the film's very first shots is a POV shot of a bed pillow, in which the camera then falls back onto the pillow. This tells us that what is to follow is going to be a dream, although Lynch departs from tradition here by avoiding using a blurry/fade effect to transition to what is next. This is a familiar technique and sign used to indicate a dream to us, but as he goes against that traditional approach, we are left clueless to the meaning of the shot, but not until much later in the film where it finally makes sense.
Mulholland Drive consists of multiple genre styles. Not only is it a Crime film but it also takes elements from Romance, Drama, Gangster and even Western films. The bricolage of genres further fiddles with our minds and expectations in relation to our usual understanding and knowledge of these individual genres. The fact that such a diverse range is united here, creates a foreign atmosphere, leaving the viewer having no idea regarding the characters' fate and resolution of the story.
The film's first half is told as a dream state, although this is unclear at first. A false reality is shown to the audience which is inaccurate to the film's actual realty. This is necessary to the story as the twist is rather reliant on it, making all of the fragmented scenes a bit more necessary and meaningful. Interestingly, the fictional dream state follows incorrect events and is untrue to Diane's (Naomi Watts) real life. This creates the film's twist possible when it finally reveals the truth and closes an optimistic fate for her character.
Finally, the film's characters are given different names and personas throughout the film. For example, Diane is known as Betty when in her dream state, while Camilla is really known as Rita. The characters in the dream have different lives and personalities, which Diane's mind uses to escape the truth; that she is a failed actress in strong distress. In the dream, Rita is presented as the damsel in distress and approaches Betty with love and compassion. In reality, Camilla's character is portrayed as flippant and evil towards Diane, which completely brings us to a realisation that we've been perceiving this character as good although she represents the complete opposite.
The first way in which Mulholland Drive is postmodern is the fragmentation that makes up the film. Multiple characters are introduced into the story at one point or another and then instead of finding out more about them or even their relevance to the story, instead we are suddenly moved back to other characters. This leaves the events of the story feeling aleatoric and disconnected from one another.
Another reason is the way in which Lynch fools the audience, ultimately the film does show a lot of events unfold that are not in reality, although more importantly he gives this away to us simply at the beginning of the film, yet it still flies right past the viewers. One of the film's very first shots is a POV shot of a bed pillow, in which the camera then falls back onto the pillow. This tells us that what is to follow is going to be a dream, although Lynch departs from tradition here by avoiding using a blurry/fade effect to transition to what is next. This is a familiar technique and sign used to indicate a dream to us, but as he goes against that traditional approach, we are left clueless to the meaning of the shot, but not until much later in the film where it finally makes sense.
Mulholland Drive consists of multiple genre styles. Not only is it a Crime film but it also takes elements from Romance, Drama, Gangster and even Western films. The bricolage of genres further fiddles with our minds and expectations in relation to our usual understanding and knowledge of these individual genres. The fact that such a diverse range is united here, creates a foreign atmosphere, leaving the viewer having no idea regarding the characters' fate and resolution of the story.
The film's first half is told as a dream state, although this is unclear at first. A false reality is shown to the audience which is inaccurate to the film's actual realty. This is necessary to the story as the twist is rather reliant on it, making all of the fragmented scenes a bit more necessary and meaningful. Interestingly, the fictional dream state follows incorrect events and is untrue to Diane's (Naomi Watts) real life. This creates the film's twist possible when it finally reveals the truth and closes an optimistic fate for her character.
Finally, the film's characters are given different names and personas throughout the film. For example, Diane is known as Betty when in her dream state, while Camilla is really known as Rita. The characters in the dream have different lives and personalities, which Diane's mind uses to escape the truth; that she is a failed actress in strong distress. In the dream, Rita is presented as the damsel in distress and approaches Betty with love and compassion. In reality, Camilla's character is portrayed as flippant and evil towards Diane, which completely brings us to a realisation that we've been perceiving this character as good although she represents the complete opposite.
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