Mulholland Drive Explained with Story Structure

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  • čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
  • Mulholland Drive's story takes place in our protagonist Diane’s mind, with three main characters that each represent a facet of her personality, which ultimately influences her emotional state in the real world. You know... kinda like in Pixar's “Inside Out”?
    But what's up with that Blue Key? Who is the Cowboy? And just who is the Jumpscare Monster?
    Today, we’re going to try a different approach to "solving" Mulholland Dr., since a lot meaning can be pulled from the film's inexplicable moments, not by analyzing them as “clues”, but by using story structure to contextualize them. Because the places where story beats land, greatly effect the course our characters’ arcs and the film’s meaning!
    Now, let’s finally solve the mystery behind Mulholland Drive and reveal its true meaning once and for all! ... if David Lynch lets us...
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    0:00 - Intro
    1:48 - "Act 0" Recap
    2:44 - The God-Awful Feeling
    4:30 - The Man Behind the Winkies
    5:52 - The Dreamplace
    7:44 - Meet Adam
    10:25 - The Whoiziss
    11:45 - Adam and the Pool Guy
    12:16 - Chasing a Dream
    13:09 - The Cowboy
    14:59 - Changing Your Attitude
    16:00 - The Audition
    17:08 - This is the Girl
    18:20 - Searching for "Diane"
    19:11 - Bedtime
    19:50 - There is No Band
    21:43 - Facing Reality
    23:27 - The Whoiziss Solved
    25:13 - The End...
    26:56 - This still doesn't really make sense...
    28:38 - The Pilot
    33:51 - Wrapping Up
    35:26 - End Screen
    Storyograph is a story analysis channel that explores the hidden meaning of popular and obscure media by tracking thematic elements through the use of story structure. And if you just fell asleep half-way through that sentence, there’s also a bunch of dumb sound effects, shoddy animation and cheap jokes to keep you entertained through to the end.
    If you subscribe, consider ringing that bell because this channel doesn't upload unless there's something real, real good to post!
    MUSIC:
    "Mining by Moonlight" "Zazie" "Rollin in at 5" "Chill" "The Bandit" "Scheming Weasel" "Secret of Tiki Island" "Music to Delight" "Spy Glass" "Pixel Peeker Polka" "Hard Boiled" "Mister Exposition" "Past Sadness" "Latin Industries" "Winter Reflections" "Kool Kats" "Fast Talkin" "Moonlight Hall" "Dark Hallway" "This House" "Local Forecast" "Corncob" "Pixelland" "The Builder" by Kevin MacLeod
    "Splashing Around" by The Green Orbs "Happy Happy Christmas" by Drax
  • Krátké a kreslené filmy

Komentáře • 425

  • @Storyograph
    @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +42

    What would have happened in the TV show? Would Betty and Adam get together? Would Betty and Rita get together? What would happen with Mr. Roque or the Cowboy? Would Diane even exist?!?!

    • @ClashwoodThunderfade
      @ClashwoodThunderfade Před 3 lety +9

      I can’t unsee those Betty-Rita scenes as romantic scenes. They’ve got whatever the Lynch equivalent of a meet-cute is. So I say they would have gotten together eventually, but Adam would probably complicate things with them.

    • @thewonderfulwhat5750
      @thewonderfulwhat5750 Před 3 lety +2

      So Rita has a stake in the plot, she’s being chased by the guys with guns. Adam has a stake in the plot, he’s being controlled by the cowboy and others. But Betty is just kind of tagging along. I’d say the reveal would be how she fits into the greater story. And maybe that does mean it’s all been her dream…?

    • @mackenziemysteries6441
      @mackenziemysteries6441 Před 3 lety

      I just want to know what the man back behind the dumpster is going to do in all of this.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety

      @@mackenziemysteries6441 Is he still just a metaphor? Or is he going to be an actual character?

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +1

      @@thewonderfulwhat5750 Well, maybe she's just the detective character and her role is solving the mystery. And maybe something in that pursuit for answers brings her some kind of fulfillment she didn't know she needed? Or just maybe something miserable because David Lynch rarely goes for the optimistic approach.

  • @ClashwoodThunderfade
    @ClashwoodThunderfade Před 3 lety +389

    This is the movie that kinda scares me the most. Because the “final boss” is not a monster or killer, it’s a feeling. The threat isn’t even well defined, so you can’t run from it. You can’t even really point to it. But it lives inside your mind.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +26

      A person in creepy makeup isn’t what’s scary, but its what that image represents (whatever it is) that feels pretty terrifying!

    • @cuckoophendula8211
      @cuckoophendula8211 Před 2 lety +7

      Whoa, I think you just described what cosmic horror is supposed to be like.

    • @enriquesanchez9016
      @enriquesanchez9016 Před 2 lety +5

      @@cuckoophendula8211 Cosmic horror is the best kind of horror. It's so mysterious, creepy and bleak in a way most horror isn't.

    • @Johnconno
      @Johnconno Před rokem

      The Unnameable.

    • @swampdonkey4919
      @swampdonkey4919 Před 8 měsíci

      Yup. That's the final boss in most Lynch films, I believe.

  • @mackenziemysteries6441
    @mackenziemysteries6441 Před 3 lety +134

    The film was made like our brains make a dream. A bunch of ideas from other places got mixed together into a story that doesn’t make complete sense. This video made me want to watch the movie again.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +2

      Ha! Yeah, that’s a really good way of putting it!

    • @richie6377
      @richie6377 Před 3 lety +5

      This is why I love David Lynch’s style! He completely creates what we experience in dreams so that we can understand! It’s fascinating.

  • @thewonderfulwhat5750
    @thewonderfulwhat5750 Před 3 lety +212

    When someone tells you about a dream they had, it’s usually the most boring thing ever because you can understand the situation they are describing, but you have none of the emotional impact that person experienced. Mulholland Drive is the opposite of that since while you watch it, you’re not sure of the meaning, but you get wrapped up in the story’s emotion.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +13

      Yeah, it engages with you on kind of a subconscious level. Like David Lynch says, it’s a story you have to feel more than think about.

    • @BilltheFifth
      @BilltheFifth Před 2 lety +4

      I would disagree. I think people's dreams are awesome.

    • @mantas68
      @mantas68 Před 2 lety +3

      @@BilltheFifth I agree. Even if it's a bad dream, it's still awesome and interesting. You have to admit that it's never a dull moment in dreamland.

    • @rebeccadelbridge2998
      @rebeccadelbridge2998 Před rokem

      Well said

    • @isaiahromero9861
      @isaiahromero9861 Před 8 měsíci

      For real. Nothing can describe the feeling this film gives you unless you've seen it MULTIPLE times. It's absolutely haunting

  • @anon5191
    @anon5191 Před 3 lety +129

    "There is no band" refers to the audition scene with Adam kesher where the brunette actress sings "baby I love you" and blonde Camilla sings "I told every little star". In that scene you only see people singing but no actual musical instrument being played. It implies there was no real audition the actress role had already been preordained.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +26

      That makes sense! It's even played on a tape and people are lip-synching to it too! I've spent so much time with this movie and there's always more to discover.

    • @mathiasmorrison1530
      @mathiasmorrison1530 Před rokem

      It also shows that (from Dianes perspective) all blone girls in Hollywood get their roles just by fooling around or from powerfull friends. The actual talent isn't that important.

    • @michelleh.5225
      @michelleh.5225 Před 6 měsíci +2

      I always interpreted "There is no band/orquestra" to mean "There is no one to play you out when you die. Only silence."

    • @anon5191
      @anon5191 Před 6 měsíci +1

      @@michelleh.5225 I feel my interpretation is more in sync with the narration of the movie. The lack of an audition here pertains to the Mafia people forcing Adam to select their chosen actress

    • @darinsingleton3553
      @darinsingleton3553 Před 6 měsíci +3

      @@michelleh.5225 As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet's final line: "The rest is silence."

  • @austinwoods466
    @austinwoods466 Před 2 měsíci +13

    The gap between who you think you are and who you really are can be devastating... as this movie shows beautifully.

  • @catoblepag
    @catoblepag Před 2 lety +47

    The "sentient leather couch" line is underappreciated... 😂 Perfectly sums up the weird, gross feeling I get looking at that man's face...

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +7

      It's always great to see my stupid jokes getting recognition

    • @bobblueford
      @bobblueford Před rokem +1

      Sad thing is that dude was a heartthrob in his time.

  • @aavalestormiconicperformer

    Diane is in a dream state and each character is a part of her personalities. Her fears and her resolve is in this movie. No matter where you go there you are.

  • @joseburgos9020
    @joseburgos9020 Před 7 měsíci +23

    Just saw this movie and I could NEVER have figured out its meaning without such a video. Kudos to you taking time and effort to figure it all out for us - or not really

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 7 měsíci +1

      No problem! I think this movie is pretty great. It's become one of my favorites because of this video actually. I think a lot of people dismiss it because it's hard to make sense of, but I think that's what makes it so unique. Its confusing, its incomprehensible at times, but its not random.

  • @AngelaChase
    @AngelaChase Před 2 lety +93

    I just watched the movie for the first time and, of course, came to CZcams to listen to video essays on the subject. Yours seems to be the most comprehensive so far. Like the movie, I feel I will need to rewatch it. Great work and thanks for putting it out into the world for all of us to enjoy.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +9

      Thank you! The hardest part about making this video was getting all the info in it without it being too overwhelming. I cut a bunch of stuff that might make it into a few much shorter videos later!

    • @AngelaChase
      @AngelaChase Před 2 lety +4

      @@Storyograph I will look forward to them.

    • @kimitsudesu
      @kimitsudesu Před 2 lety

      You obviously didn't see this one... czcams.com/video/OiCfHW3N3vo/video.html

    • @andyg264
      @andyg264 Před 9 měsíci +1

      Then you haven't seen Twin Perfect's interpretation - which to me is far more comprehensive and also on the money in comparison... czcams.com/video/OiCfHW3N3vo/video.html

  • @vladchan
    @vladchan Před rokem +26

    I thought the scary homeless guy was the devil himself sitting behind Winkie's running the whole show. He was even framed by eerie flames at one one point. The spirits of Diane and Camilla got reunited over nighttime LA after death and they looked happy. Go figure!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +5

      There's so many ways to interpret this movie. Some would call that a flaw, but I'd consider it a unique feature that makes it great!

    • @munkeyinspace5331
      @munkeyinspace5331 Před 10 měsíci +4

      The bum is the dream of becoming a Hollywood star… but what that dream actually looks like in reality… when the guy sees him he “dies” or rather; essentially his dream is ruined by the ugly reality of Hollywood… the ugly reality which is being shown throughout the movie…

    • @michelleh.5225
      @michelleh.5225 Před 6 měsíci +2

      I saw the magician at the "Silencio" show as more of a Lucifer/devil figure.

  • @michelleh.5225
    @michelleh.5225 Před 6 měsíci +8

    This movie is so interesting to me because I have had some kind of psychoses from stress/trauma very similar to what Diane experiences in this movie. Where I had some delusions that there were some celebrities who moved near me specifically to help me realize my dreams (I want to be a filmmaker and make movies/tv shows). And that some of my friends and people I've met once were also working on meeting me and had gathered some allies near me for me to meet. I was so confused, as I was severely sleep deprived, but I also expected someone to knock on my door and take me where I need to go. I knew logically, that there was no way it could be true, but I so desperately wanted it to be true. That all my stress and misery would be taken away and I could live a life of my dreams. Obviously, nothing happened and I instead needed to go to a mental health program for a few months. At least I was able to keep from falling into those delusions too deeply and was able to recover from it. But this movie is a great depiction of what can happen if you lean too far into delusions and fantasy and don't work on manifesting your passions in a realistic way.

  • @anon5191
    @anon5191 Před 3 lety +31

    Mr Roque represents the dark shadowy machinations of Hollywood.
    Aunt Ruth is A Un Truth (a play on words)
    Luigi spits the coffee because he represents Diane's disgust about having to hear how Adam kesher had a successful divorce settlement. The moment Adam is telling the story at the dinner party about how he got the pool and his ex-wife got the pool man, diane take a sip of coffee from the sos mug and looks across the table and sees Luigi.
    The blood on the guys hair represents Holly berries. A metaphor for Hollywood. In Duane's dream the murder was instigated by Hollywood power brokers because the guy was gossiping and the black book he possessed could incriminate powerful people.
    The subtext of the audition with the leathery old man was that, Diane scored a minor role in the Sylvia north story by getting on the casting couch with the real Camilla.
    The dog shit represents that even in Diane idylic Hollywood dream there are unpleasant things lurking around.
    Rita and Dianne did cocaine. A popular drug in Hollywood they supresses appetite and generates euphoria. In the film right after the jitterbug scene ends we hear deep breathing noises which might imply Diane snorting cocaine and entering into a drug induced dream.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +5

      I considered that take on the coffee question myself. But interestingly there is a lot of coffee in this movie. Does all of it tie together? Does coffee always equal disgust? Or is it just in the movie a lot because that's just David Lynch's thing? Maybe the coffee Diane drinks in her apartment at the end represents her finally "waking up"?

  • @rthraitor
    @rthraitor Před 8 měsíci +6

    It is quite funny that David Lynch probably just tied to try up all the lose ends of a TV show and ended up making this masterpiece of a film. Great analysis man

  • @bsharp6856
    @bsharp6856 Před 9 měsíci +25

    Very good and entertaining analysis! The one key issue I think is missed is the theme of sexual abuse. Rita Hayworth was sexually abused by her father. In Betty's audition scene, the young girl has been having an affair with an older man. She feels both repulsed and excited by it and ashamed of the whole thing. There is a prominent painting of Beatrice Cenci in Aunt Ruth's apartment. Beatrice Cenci was a famous victim of sexual abuse who killed her father for doing it. Also in Aunt Ruth's apartment is a photo of the old woman Irene with a young blonde child. As we see in the airport, the old guy joins them later. Clearly Diane has been trained to act like no sexual abuse ever happened. This is the meaning of "Silencio". Diane is forced to confront her guilt over sexual abuse by the illusionist in Club Silencio and she shakes and shudders in response. The blue box appearing in the purse is the symbol of her guilt over her sexual abuse. The blue key symbolizes her murder of Camilla. The guilt over Camilla unlocks her guilt over childhood molestation, together driving her to suicide.

    • @Raeb_Games-ky8hc
      @Raeb_Games-ky8hc Před 2 měsíci +2

      Ill add here: there is that one scene of Diane masturbating, which i was very much expecting to see, and your comment helps me understand it even more. If she was sexualy assaulted, it is common for child sexual abuse victims to confuse sex with love. It very much explains the scene with masturbation - when the fantasy of love between her and Camilla was not there anymore, she tried to go back to it desperately, trying to feel the pleasant feelings through masturbation, but the reality was too real and she couldnt get back in the fantasy where she and Camilla(Rita) loves each other.

  • @jeremyslather
    @jeremyslather Před rokem +33

    I saw the movie. I got the main idea that "it's remorse", and i went online to see all the missed elements. I did get it generally so I am glad. I of course missed a lot of elements but the idea of "bakemono" from japanese culture kinda helps explain this; it's the monster in the mind made by you and haunting the self. I honestly wonder why Wats didn't get acting at the oscars. At least they nominated Lynch for director.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +3

      I love that explanation! (I've been trying to learn more about Japanese yokai and the like.) Also, yes to Watts in this role! I know I goofed on it a little in the part in my video when I do that "Simpsons" joke about Diane's "heart ripping in half", but every time I see that scene in the context of the movie... oof. I feel like my heart rips in half. There's a million things going on with her face and it's all devastating!

    • @faykguru
      @faykguru Před rokem +3

      Watts got robbed.

  • @youtubename7819
    @youtubename7819 Před rokem +19

    I think the stare shared by Adam and Betty in the dream is the kinship Diane feels with him in real life. Sure, she’s angry. But she knows camila would chew him up and spit him out at camilas convenience. She knows it wouldnt end well for him, even though he thinks he is in control of the situation. After all, that’s how Diane wound up in this mess.
    Plus, she did kinda just kill his fiancé, so she feels bad about it. They’ve both lost her. They share a grief.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +2

      That's a solid interpretation! I like it!

  • @aamesworld
    @aamesworld Před rokem +26

    This movie is so complex and rich with interpretations. Masterpiece

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +3

      Yeah, Not every movie needs to be ambiguous, but I really like that this one is! I had to rewrite my video so many times to feel like I did it justice.

    • @aamesworld
      @aamesworld Před rokem +1

      @@Storyograph for sure

  • @snorlax42
    @snorlax42 Před 8 měsíci +7

    I have a possible answer to why Luigi hates coffee! It's an extension of Diane's pettiness in the dream. Luigi is someone who is sitting drinking coffee within Diane's eyeline while she's being humiliated at the party, and now in the dream he cannot do that. It's amazingly petty right up there with Adam's terrible horrible no good very bad day, as she's just imagining the worst things happening to someone who "stole" Camilla from her. Diane's dream is wish fulfillment, but it's also a revenge fantasy where she never has to lift a finger for bad things to happen to people, much like how she never directly pulled the trigger on Camilla, she paid someone else to do it.

    • @jakerahn7890
      @jakerahn7890 Před 2 měsíci +1

      There's also definitely something about coffee representing "being awake". At this point of the dream, the idea of waking up is repulsive to her. When she finally does, she has some coffee, but she still wasn't ready to live her painful existence

    • @frfras7
      @frfras7 Před měsícem

      @@jakerahn7890that’s more likely

  • @zeenie5489
    @zeenie5489 Před 5 měsíci +3

    jesus thank you this is the only mulholland dr analysis that has made any sense to me

  • @astragalusson
    @astragalusson Před rokem +23

    That man (one of Castigliani brothers) doesn't like coffee (espresso to be exact) in the dream because in real life at the party scene, just after Diane takes a sip from her espresso, she sees that same intimidating man throwing a weird (maybe judgemental) look at her. Immediately after that, while the taste of the coffee is still there, first Camilla kissed that other blonde and following that, Adam & Camilla announced their marriage which is definitely a terrible moment for Diana. In that moment, that coffee probably became the worst thing she tasted in her life because Camilla was not only kissing and marrying other people but also intentionally rubbing it to her face. So, I think that's why she associated that terrible feeling with the taste of coffee and in the dream she transfered that "coffee hate" to that man she saw in almost the moment, as she transfers every one of her bad feelings to someone else in her dream. Plus, you might speculate that's the moment first time she thinks of murdering Camilla as we see the disappointment and especially anger in her face and we quickly cut to the diner scene with the hit-man.
    It's similar to her transfering her fear to the eyebrow man (Dan) who she saw in the diner, as she makes a deal with the hitman and he shows her the blue key. She fears that man at the counter saw the blue key and looked like he suspects something which came just after the hitman warned her not to show the picture so casually, which in her mind, might be KEY to the police's investigation and truth getting out, and her getting caught. Plus, that key also represents truth and fear to her because she probably realized she made a mistake BEFORE she found the blue key and for a while she had to live with the FEAR that she'll find the blue key any moment. Later, after finding the key, it reminded her the ugly truth that she killed Camilla. So, she associated the fear and truth with the blue key and in the dream she transfered that fear to the strange man looking she saw looking at her just as she has first seen the blue key in the hands of hitman.
    In real life, both men are total strangers looking at her from a distance and in both cases, both men are looking at her in a crucial moment that gives her some strong feelings which also contains some physical thing (either the coffee taste or the blue key) that associates with those strong feelings which surface back in the dream first transfered to other people, but of course slowly coming back to herself.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +1

      That explanation certainly works for me! 👍

    • @benjamindover4337
      @benjamindover4337 Před 3 měsíci

      I think the coffee being spit out represents the excretions of the "man behind the wall that controls everything" who Dan refers to at Winkies. (Dan also represents Diana) When Diane is humiliated, and drinks the coffee which the man spit out, that is her capitulation to the demands of powerful people in order to have a seat at the table of this lavish Hollywood party.

  • @MojoFB79
    @MojoFB79 Před 3 lety +3

    This has been on my watchlist for a long time and you just happened to upload this the day I watched it! Great video!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +2

      All according to plan... (Also, thank you!)

  • @johngleue
    @johngleue Před rokem +6

    This is the best video I've seen so far explaining this movie. Great job!

  • @ellowell8160
    @ellowell8160 Před rokem +1

    I really loved that this video deconstructed what it could from a simple narrative point of view--the "basic" interpretation of the film as Diane's dream--without getting too lost in the weeds about clues (just as you prefaced at the very beginning). I'm sure you have many theories about the symbolism etc. but by keeping the focus narrow you allow the viewer to compartmentalize the core story and explore the finer details on their own with a stronger foundation. Great approach, and well done!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem

      Thank you so much - That's what I was really hoping to do! I guess it worked!

  • @koolwhp
    @koolwhp Před rokem +1

    This really is the only good Mulholland Drive video essay on this site. Thanks.

  • @MetalTrenches
    @MetalTrenches Před 6 měsíci +2

    Great video analysis and incredible editing. Also, I read the scene of Betty and Adam’s shared stare as the dreamer basically running into themselves and rather than come to terms with that, running to avoid breaking the emersion of the dream.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 6 měsíci

      Oh, I love that! That's gonna be my new headcanon!

  • @claudiasobral9566
    @claudiasobral9566 Před 3 lety +14

    I'm in love with this channel! Trully an insighful and fun analisis to watch, and the most positive aspect is that you don't try to say "this is definitely X" or "that is definitely Y". I like the fact that you also raise some questions that do not go along the analisis. It contributes to my perception of the movie in a positive manner, you know?

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +4

      Thanks! I really feel like a good work of art should be left open to interpretation. It keeps it "alive". I like looking for the "clues" the creators drop and giving my take on it, but I don't really want to be the one who stops the conversation by declaring anything to be definite.

  • @TheHappyCamper01
    @TheHappyCamper01 Před 10 měsíci +5

    Sentient leather couch 😂😂

  • @aiazic.
    @aiazic. Před rokem +5

    I love this video so much. It's so well edited.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem

      Thanks, there was a lot to cover! Editing took a long while!

  • @KiwiWithAHatF8F
    @KiwiWithAHatF8F Před 2 lety

    Wonderful analysis & explanation. So glad to have found this channel!

  • @hughrobson9550
    @hughrobson9550 Před 2 lety +2

    Extraordinary and epic analysis. Overwhelming complexity

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +1

      The hard part was knowing what parts not to mention in the video. Needless to say, there's a whole lot going on in this movie!

  • @michelleh.5225
    @michelleh.5225 Před 6 měsíci +2

    Some of my errant interpretations:
    - "There is no band/orchestra" means "There is no one to play you out when you die. Only silence." Hence why we only hear silence at the end of the film, after Diane shoots herself.
    - I saw the magician at the Silencio show as a Lucifer figure, indicating to Diane where she is heading after death.
    - Likewise, I saw the cowboy as an "angel" figure, who is calm, menacing, but ultimately benevolent.
    - I saw the bum as a God figure, as in "the man behind the curtain", the one who is really pulling the strings. The true machinator of the universe.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 6 měsíci +1

      Ooo! I like that! I love reading new takes on this movie. As much as I like my interpretation, sometimes I hear something like this that makes me second guess everything.

  • @jbferguson18
    @jbferguson18 Před 2 lety +4

    the man spitting up the espresso coffee into a napkin represents Diane’s nauseating feeling towards the reality of camila and Adam’s relationship, coffee symbolises sickness to Diane, she was drinking it during the party scene right before the crash and once the scene flipped to an earlier part in the winkies with the hit man her cup got re filled once again by betty the waitress with no ask. It also references stimulation on which Diane’s dream/fantasy is driven by energy hence the caffine. You see this in the clip where diane brews one after shortly waking from the dream to when we brings it over to the table (blue key there too) it then flips to dream again and the coffee turns into a liquor of some sort ( no blue key) and bam 💥 camila is there again laying naked.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety

      Yeah, that pretty much all checks out. I always kept thinking coffee symbolized something like "waking up", but I could never fully draw the line the whole way through. Lot of great coffee imagery in this movie. Well, really all David Lynch films.

    • @bsharp6856
      @bsharp6856 Před 9 měsíci +1

      The coffee retching scene happens in the dream, when Adam is being forced to choose Camilla Rhodes for the lead role by the Castigliane Bros. implying that she is the girlfriend of one of them. At the real world party, Diane is sipping coffee when she sees Luigi Castigliane leering at her and she realized that Camilla invited her to the party to fix her up with her ex so she can get him off her back and be free to marry Adam and advance her career. She is disgusted with the idea of sleeping with an old letch to get a lead role the way she thinks Camilla did. At the party, in Spanish, we hear Camilla angrily announce "I NEVER went to Casablanca with Luigi!" To which Adam says WTF?

    • @Bapaske
      @Bapaske Před 9 měsíci

      What Adam actually says is 'Que va!' - No way! He says it again much more furiously in English in the boardroom scene, he has realized what this means about Camilla!.@@bsharp6856

  • @jimmitheapache
    @jimmitheapache Před 3 lety +4

    This breakdown is 🤯. Awesome content! Also I'm convinced this movie opens our third eye.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety

      Thanks! (And David Lynch does love transcendental meditation...)

  • @jkno88
    @jkno88 Před 3 lety +5

    This. Is. So. Much. Think, i´ll have to watch it again, cause the pacing is so fast AND filled with so much informations. Thank you for this video. Very well done.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +1

      Very true. I had to re-edit it several times to get the balance between "too long" and "too dense". I'm just glad you like it anyway!

  • @djentile7773
    @djentile7773 Před 2 lety +4

    the editing is great, you deserve more views.

  • @romandesilva9124
    @romandesilva9124 Před 3 měsíci

    This was a masterpiece. Well done.

  • @HudzunDunDunDun
    @HudzunDunDunDun Před 8 měsíci +1

    very insightful!!! this and your video on funny games are probably up there as my favorites on the platform

  • @addictstatic
    @addictstatic Před měsícem

    I have seen this film several times and honestly this is the most coherent analysis. I figured the meaning was akin to dreams logics.

  • @lmo6634
    @lmo6634 Před 2 lety +13

    your videos are fucking phenomenal, honestly i watch think pieces about movies all the time and i haven’t been motivated to write something in years, but this just did it for me. super funny, entertaining, informative and thoughtful at the same time. great job dude!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +4

      These are the kinds of comments that keep me going when I'm making these videos. Thank you so much!

    • @lmo6634
      @lmo6634 Před 2 lety +1

      @@Storyograph no prob! your videos are awesome, i totally think you should invest yourself into making them because there’s definitely a lot of talent there

  • @Jimdunne_
    @Jimdunne_ Před 2 lety +1

    Very good video. Lot of unique things that set it apart from other analysis uploads.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety

      Thanks! It’s hard to stand out with so many great film channels out there. This is great to hear!

  • @deadmedowns
    @deadmedowns Před 11 měsíci

    Thanks for this. It adds context to everything else

  • @CopiousDoinksLLC
    @CopiousDoinksLLC Před 18 dny

    I love watching videos about this movie. Lynch did such a good job of nailing that dream-like ambience and it's great listening to people muse over it.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 17 dny

      Yeah, me too! I tried to be as logical as possible with this one, but then I watch someone else's video and I think "wow! that also makes so much sense too!"

  • @melissawright1979
    @melissawright1979 Před 2 lety +2

    Brilliant! Thank you for this great explanation

  • @thomashellison1577
    @thomashellison1577 Před 3 lety +15

    This is pure gold, the best on CZcams! But i dare you to do the same with Inland Empire

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +5

      Thank you! I do love a challenge, so I'll see what I can do. Though for now I'm gonna need a little break from the intensity that comes with analyzing a David Lynch film

    • @danadoozer9990
      @danadoozer9990 Před 2 měsíci

      Haha, I would LOVE for someone to explain Inland empire! I watched it 3 times and I'm utterly confused! I'm very familiar with the way David Lynch loves to mash things up, but that movie almost hurts my brain!

  • @KaranSingh-ol8id
    @KaranSingh-ol8id Před měsícem

    This movie hits you hard if you are above 30, those feeling of constant rejections in reality but your subconscious still doesn't want to believe it. You somehow construct a fake comfort into your mind which is far away from the reality, but sooner or later all your fake palaces start crumbling from its core. Then you start blaming and complaining to others for your own shortcomings, that's when you hit a complete rock bottom.

  • @cinemaipswich4636
    @cinemaipswich4636 Před 11 měsíci +3

    My first impression was how some people eventually turned into their other half. There are pairs and parallels in this movie.

  • @nationsquid
    @nationsquid Před rokem +8

    Your videos are SO well made! Everything is edited and put together so well and you explain things very clearly. Please keep going with these videos! Your channel is fantastic. :)

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +1

      Thank you! I'm working on one right now, so there will be more to come!

  • @seraphik
    @seraphik Před 3 lety +17

    this is amazing. insightful, clever, and thoroughly entertaining. subbed!

  • @ArmandruiXD
    @ArmandruiXD Před 3 lety +1

    Just discovered your channel, really awesome video! I'm looking forward to more content. Hope to see more Lynch in the future as well!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +1

      Thank you! I sure wouldn't mind doing another David Lynch movie, but _wow_ this video took a LOT of work to make. I'll probably need some time before diving back in to his brand of filmmaking.

    • @ArmandruiXD
      @ArmandruiXD Před 3 lety

      @@Storyograph I completely understand, you did an awesome job dissecting the story! I imagine that took a ton of time. In any case I'm looking forward to seeing your past videos and your upcoming ones!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety

      @@ArmandruiXD Thanks! I'm hoping I can get them out sooner. This last one was a beast!

  • @AleMaya
    @AleMaya Před 2 měsíci

    this was so funny and entertaining, loved it!

  • @DevonChampion
    @DevonChampion Před 2 měsíci

    This video would get more attention with a different thumbnail. I was hesitant to click on it for a while. The frame at 10:57 “I don’t know who I am” for example would work great. Amazing video, deserves more recognition 🚪⭕️🐇

  • @anon5191
    @anon5191 Před 2 lety +25

    Here is another hypothesis:
    When Betty and Rita reach the house where Diane Selwyn lives, they both duck and hide twice. Once in the car and the other time near the hedge. I think this would be them trying to avoid the paparazzi in real life and trying to keep their relationship a secret ?

    • @mj_padayao
      @mj_padayao Před 2 měsíci +1

      That doesn't work

    • @OasisJones
      @OasisJones Před měsícem

      That’s fucking stupid

    • @frfras7
      @frfras7 Před měsícem

      They never had a relationship

  • @TheHeavyshadow
    @TheHeavyshadow Před rokem +2

    Damn, for a channel your size that's rather impressive editing and analysis.
    Or rather: You deserve a lot more people watching your videos for all the work you put in, and you got at least one more subscriber today.
    I mean: I haven't even seen the movie before because most of what I've heard was "You know that director that's famous for making unintelligible movies? That one's unintelligible even by his standards." But with your analysis not only do I feel like I understood the movie without even watching it, with the added explanation of it being a re-cut and re-shot pilot for a series that was never made I was actually able to "respect" the movie for that and it's "answers" when I expected going away thinking "Oh, the movie is just someone randomly throwing a bunch of vague stuff together and promising people there's meaning in it if they look hard enough."

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +1

      Thank you! Welcome aboard!
      I really like David Lynch's movies, but they are often hard to decipher. I think Mulholland Drive just kinda got to me so much that I had to scour the film for an explanation as to why it felt so powerful to me, i.e.: What is it really about? I'm glad it's working for a lot of people!
      Also maybe check out the film if it looks interesting to you! As someone who's seen it dozens of times, it's still good even if you know the ending.

  • @vplusah
    @vplusah Před 2 lety

    Fantastic edit and post-production.

  • @danadoozer9990
    @danadoozer9990 Před 2 měsíci

    I've watched this movie countless times, at least 20 times, and I never made some of these connections before, like the Winkies guy being a version of Diane! I love hearing theories on this movie, it's a masterpiece that never gets old!

  • @ronniebishop2496
    @ronniebishop2496 Před 2 lety +3

    The overall plot is simple, it’s just intertwined with dreams, nightmares, and pretty little songs sung by dear little faces that will screw the devil himself to become a star, like Rosemary did for her husband in Rosemarys Baby. That’s all folks. David also barrows ideas from different scenes of different movies which they all do.

  • @erdalmickeyilkturk
    @erdalmickeyilkturk Před rokem

    This is the best film analysis ever 😀

  • @Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole
    @Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole Před 4 měsíci

    A brilliant analysis of the the film. I am very fascinated by David Lynch's use of symbolism and dream. I feel his films are very different and much more spiritual than other "dreamy" directors like Tim Burton or Guierllmo Del Toro.
    This hands-down this is the most thorough and concise video-analysis of Mullholand Dr. here on uTube. And well paced and engagely presented, too. At some story-points I found that by slowing the speed in half allowed my little brain to process the story.
    I wanted to share something in the film that I think no one has noticed. During the cafe scene when Eye-brow Man tells his dream to the other guy, there are two old men sitting directly behind Eye-brow man. Their heads are mostly concealed, but when Eyebrow Man says "I hope I never see that face" the old mans head pops into view slightly. From left to right. // Fastforward to the surprise-scare scene of the bum popping out, you guessed it-- from left to right. Therefore, the head of the old man visually foreshadows the scare scene about to happen. // The head appearance in the cafe is subtle, but NOT a coincidence. If one looks at the end of the cafe chat conversation, when the detective walks up to the counter to help re-enact eyebrow man's dream, we yet AGAIN see the old man's head pop out from behind Eye-brow Man's head! // This is true genius filmmaking. The subtly of it, and the true understanding of subliminal information is amazing.
    This is what I feel is the difference between Tim Burton and David Lynch. Sure, Edward Scissor-hands was magical. And I loved it. But it exits only as fantasy. Very-much like a fairy tale. But Lynch not really about fantasy at all. Nor Existentialism. He is into the subconscious; The cosmic; The unraveling of our thoughts like a myriad of dreams and layers of our interpretation of the world around us.
    Thanks to Storograph for this excellent presentation. And in the spirit of David Lynch I'd like to personally invite the narrator to visit some of my own short films on my own channel. I'm happy for David Lynch's commercial success and that his rather deep films have found appreciation in broader movie-going palate.
    And a bless-ed day to all! - _The Acoustic Rabbit Hole_

  • @harrisonplatis3902
    @harrisonplatis3902 Před 2 lety +8

    I know it’s the equivalent of torture but would love to see your take on INNLAND EMPIRE. Loved this video

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +5

      Thanks! Haha, yeah maybe I'll do _Inland Empire_ one day. Though I think I'd have to watch it several more times before really considering it.

    • @harrisonplatis3902
      @harrisonplatis3902 Před 2 lety +2

      @@Storyograph I had a terrible first watch my two friends were drinking and talked the ENTIRE THREE HOURS except maybe 10 minutes that being said haven’t stopped thinking about it

    • @Kainebadonmusic
      @Kainebadonmusic Před rokem

      “Who are these people…?” So terrifying

  • @yusufhasan2896
    @yusufhasan2896 Před 2 lety

    Very good analysis.👍

  • @SickHedgehog777
    @SickHedgehog777 Před 3 lety +8

    you've put a shit ton of effort into this vid holy ... amazing. love it. subbed

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +3

      Thanks! I actually had to make it twice, since my computer died in the middle. I'm just glad its finally completed!

  • @user-wo6kl8wb4r
    @user-wo6kl8wb4r Před 2 lety

    OMG you put a lot of effort into it. It shows

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety

      I actually had to make this video twice after my computer died in the middle of editing! I'm glad that effort didn't go unnoticed!

  • @deusexmachina9776
    @deusexmachina9776 Před rokem

    I wish you made more videos. this is quality work

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem

      Thank you, I wish I made more videos too! I'm working on one now! Maybe we'll see it sometime this fall if all goes according to plan...

    • @deusexmachina9776
      @deusexmachina9776 Před rokem

      @@Storyograph i look forward to that

  • @williamweiss6128
    @williamweiss6128 Před 2 lety +5

    According to Lynch, each one of us must come to our understanding or appreciation of his movies.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety

      I think there's no other way to it. There's too much ambiguity in his films to pin down a truly universal explanation for them.

    • @sophiamarchildon3998
      @sophiamarchildon3998 Před rokem +2

      I disagree. If I didn't read other's interpretations, ideas, thoughts, analysis of the movies, I would be stuck with the overly simple face-first version of it. Now with so many more material and thought-provoking material about the movie, I can sculpt a much more complex and detailed interpretation of the movie. Not each one of us must come to know the movie, "we" must come to know it.

    • @EasternOrthodox101
      @EasternOrthodox101 Před rokem

      🤦‍♂️😂😅🤣🤣

  • @Skeletor611
    @Skeletor611 Před rokem

    Very good, thanks

  • @frankie7371
    @frankie7371 Před 3 lety +1

    this is incredible

  • @rjsweda
    @rjsweda Před rokem

    "SOS" mug, nice catch!

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem

      Thanks! I wasn't sure if it was intentional at first, but it just seemed so conspicuous framed that I feel like that was probably the point.

  • @sudarshanlamichhane9303

    thank you so much

  • @smartalec8855
    @smartalec8855 Před 3 lety

    That was seriously funny. Thanks

  • @BELL314159
    @BELL314159 Před 8 měsíci

    I’m coming in 2 years late into your analysis, and would like to say that I’m both fascinated and inspired at how David Lynch weaves a tale. The film The Wizard of Oz has such an influence on his work, it seems to me, and the way he reworks it and develops it is truly remarkable (“it” being the multiple identities of the self of a character). Now that you’ve made this notion completely obvious in his work, I have to go back and re-assess all his films with this in mind! Of course, the Good Witch of the North in Wild at Heart is no subtle clue!

  • @scottdavidson526
    @scottdavidson526 Před 5 měsíci

    I had this movie confused with another movie, but damn, this movie is a trip.

  • @thyagosaints
    @thyagosaints Před 2 lety

    Loved!

  • @noncreativearts5360
    @noncreativearts5360 Před 3 lety +1

    YAY ANOTHER VIDEO LETS GOOO

  • @sherrillsturm7240
    @sherrillsturm7240 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I guess I slept through the part where her girlfriend is murdered. The entire movie felt like a dream, as dreams switch characters, situations, and geography suddenly, and without explanation, yet we accept them a the reality of the moment. This assessment seems as good as any other offered. Lynch reminds me of Kubrikc's response to what the end of 2001 means. Basically, it is whatever you think it is.

  • @coledavidson5630
    @coledavidson5630 Před 3 měsíci

    Wow this made me cry

  • @Likwidfox
    @Likwidfox Před měsícem

    The whole time it felt like Chris Nolan guest directed an episode of Twin Peaks. You know Lynch saw Momento.

  • @JasonXBeats
    @JasonXBeats Před 2 lety +1

    2:24 I laughed hard at the gun silencer sound FX 😂

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +1

      I spend a lot of time thinking about the sound FX. I’m glad you enjoyed that one!

    • @JasonXBeats
      @JasonXBeats Před 2 lety

      @@Storyograph I also loved other sound fx - keep the humor going on your videos. Awesome work

    • @JasonXBeats
      @JasonXBeats Před 2 lety

      Plus just bought the criterion edition. So good!

  • @benre
    @benre Před 2 lety

    very good video!

  • @mohamadafifazizizaidi5625
    @mohamadafifazizizaidi5625 Před 10 měsíci +1

    The Mulholland Drive as a full-length tv show episodes, could've work: IN *today's era* . TV pilot didn't get picked up by network back then; too ambitious as well as ahead of its time (just as beginning of new millenium). Could be potential as a *"Twin Peaks.... in HOLLYWOOD!"*
    Although most of us glad it turned into a movie with 2nd half as a reality narrative. Took a very long time to interpret and conclude.

  • @neillynch_ecocidologist
    @neillynch_ecocidologist Před 3 měsíci +1

    Just watched it - good film. I think a danger of overanalysing an entertaining story (as Mulholland Drive certainly was and as overanalysed as it was in this here video), you start seeing plausible explanations for things that were possibly inserted into the story for no real significant reason. Still, this video was entertaining and did elucidate some aspects for me.

  • @tralexan
    @tralexan Před 7 měsíci +1

    Let in be. It's open. Don't try to shut it down. There is no worth in trying to sharpen the oblique.

  • @valmarsiglia
    @valmarsiglia Před měsícem

    Maybe the point where Betty and Adam meet would've started a subplot in the TV series in which they do just what you say, try to solve the Rita mystery.

  • @lucasdeiros
    @lucasdeiros Před 10 měsíci

    The thumb pretty much sums it up

  • @Johnconno
    @Johnconno Před rokem +2

    Adam isn't angry, he's too busy being a Smart Alec to be angry.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před rokem +1

      He's a man who wants to get right down to it!

    • @Johnconno
      @Johnconno Před rokem

      @@Storyograph Kinda' anxious to get down to it are you?😆

  • @billyalarie929
    @billyalarie929 Před 2 lety

    I like how you assume we’ve unpacked the plot to the film at the start.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety

      Haha, yeah - I think I have a draft of this script where I don't assume that, and its almost three times as long! Hopefully this wasn't too hard to follow though...?

  • @mattgilbert7347
    @mattgilbert7347 Před 3 dny

    A detail in Club Silencio that I love is it appears that Laura Palmer and Ronette Pulaski are in attendance.
    Lynch's "women in trouble" all go to the same place when they dream.
    Btw the "Bum" is played by a woman.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 dny +1

      Yeah that's pretty fun! I think someone else in the comments pointed that out to me. As many times as I've seen this movie, I hadn't noticed. And yeah Bonnie Aarons plays the "Bum". She would go on to continue her jumpscare career in the "Nun" movies!

  • @joeferris5086
    @joeferris5086 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I've always thought the scenes where the mob guys inform Adam who the girl is, and the look between Adam and Betty are her subconsciously justifying why she never made it. You see, it had nothing to do with her talent. It was some shady studio guys with an agenda. This is why she wasnt selected as the girl. The look she shares with Adam is her believing he really found her more beautiful, and only picked Camilla because he was under duress. Same with the old couple. Although they seemed friendly, they were really laughing behind her back.

  • @kevinnelson198
    @kevinnelson198 Před 2 lety +2

    This break down is amazing and the video is very great. But why did you call Clue and Wizard of Oz, Murder and Return to Oz?

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety

      Just for jokes’ sake. I figured those were famous enough movies that people knew them already. I’ve got other videos where I call Star Wars “Space Wizards” and A Clockwork Orange “Strawberry Alarm Clock”

  • @fr0zeNid
    @fr0zeNid Před 5 měsíci +1

    Man i wish it wouldve been a tv series

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 5 měsíci +1

      Yeah that would have been really fun to see

  • @reginaldgray4349
    @reginaldgray4349 Před 2 lety

    I wish this was published, back when I first watched this movie. I’ve watched this movie, over a thousand times. Since 2010.

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +1

      I feel like I watched this movie about four times before I made this video, and about a thousand times while making this video

  • @rakeshbasak644
    @rakeshbasak644 Před 3 lety

    u r amazing, man😂😂

  • @marksoberay2318
    @marksoberay2318 Před 3 dny

    I never noticed Camilla is wearing a Hugh Heffner robe

  • @iwyt3995
    @iwyt3995 Před měsícem

    My headcanon still stands.
    All of David Lynch's filmography (excluding _Dune_ and _The Elephant Man...maybe_) is part of the same twisted Urban Fantasy shared universe...and _Twin Peaks_ is to this universe what _The Dark Tower_ is to the works of Stephen King.

  • @theartistformerlyknownasje6358

    Bravo 👏

  • @ohnose4455
    @ohnose4455 Před měsícem

    I kid you not, up until the film credits I thought that Betty and Diane were portrayed by two different actresses

  • @Mtv-get-off-thee-air
    @Mtv-get-off-thee-air Před 2 lety +6

    She drank all the coke

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 2 lety +3

      Finally someone answering the REAL questions!

  • @chrislor2882
    @chrislor2882 Před 9 měsíci +1

    The problem with this film is that it leaves too much interpretive responsibility on the viewer. Or in other words, it can't convey the message it wants to get across very well. That's why it fails to be a good movie. Additional note, the popularity that came to it was more on the side of becoming a cult movie, but it is worth noting that a large part of its defenders did not understand the movie and only defend it because it makes them seem "cool"

    • @marcogianesello6083
      @marcogianesello6083 Před měsícem +1

      That's your mistake for thinking that the purpose of a film is to "give a message", term which you also misunderstand while using as you merely seem to conceive of "message" as "factual statement that can summarize the meaning of said thing in a single sentence". No good movie can be or should be boiled down to that, and this is merely a surrealist film, where it makes even less sense to try and break it down into some easily digestible slogan. A ffilm is an experience, it makes you feel things. You're welcome to say it didn't resonate with you and so you don't get much out of it but you don't conflate that with "people that do are wrong because they supposedly can't twist the experience into something it's not for my benefit and my understanding". If I applied equally conceited logic to you I would just dismiss you with something like "oh you're dumb if you don't get it so that's a problem with you". When "getting it" is never really the point in the first place

  • @Olimpico230
    @Olimpico230 Před 3 lety +1

    I’m so lucky this video came out just a month before i watched this movie

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety +1

      Great timing!

    • @Olimpico230
      @Olimpico230 Před 3 lety

      @@Storyograph its really amazing.. i had so many years to watch this movie and I didn’t.. Fate wanted me to enjoy this masterpiece of a video... Many thanks

    • @Storyograph
      @Storyograph  Před 3 lety

      @@Olimpico230 Thank you!

  • @AnthonyRusso93
    @AnthonyRusso93 Před 9 měsíci +1

    It is way WAY less confusing than Inland Empire