Mulholland Drive
Watch TrailerCast:
Naomi WattsBetty Elms / Diane Selwyn
Laura HarringRita / Camilla Rhodes
Justin TherouxAdam
Ann MillerCoco
Mark PellegrinoJoe
Robert ForsterDetective McKnight
Mulholland Drive is often called the best film of the 21st century, and also the most confusing. David Lynch’s mystery is a love story, a Hollywood satire and a nightmare at the same time. It doesn’t hand you a twist on a plate, it asks you to put the pieces together yourself.
The Plot
After a car crash on Mulholland Drive, a dark-haired woman (Laura Harring) stumbles down into Los Angeles and hides in an empty apartment. She has lost her memory. She takes the name “Rita” from a Gilda poster on the wall.
The apartment belongs to the aunt of Betty Elms (Naomi Watts), a bright and hopeful young actress who has just arrived in Hollywood. Betty decides to help Rita find out who she is. In Rita’s purse they find a lot of money and a strange blue key.
At the same time, other stories run in parallel: a young director (Justin Theroux) is forced by mysterious men to cast a certain actress in his film, a man tells a friend about a nightmare in a diner, and a hitman’s simple job goes very wrong.
Naomi Watts’ Breakthrough
Naomi Watts delivers one of the great performances of the decade. Her audition scene, where sweet Betty suddenly turns a cheesy script into something dangerous and seductive, is often cited as the moment she became a star.
How to Watch It
Don’t try to solve the film on the first viewing. Let it wash over you. Lynch himself refused to explain it and instead gave a list of ten clues on the DVD release. The famous Club Silencio scene, with its haunting Spanish version of “Crying”, is the hinge on which everything turns.
Verdict
Not a film for everyone, but one that rewards patience like few others. After the ending, you’ll want to watch it again immediately.
- Who should watch: Viewers who enjoy puzzles, dream logic and films that stay in their head for days.
- Skip it if: You need a story that explains itself.
Mulholland Drive Ending Explained
⚠️ Major spoilers ahead! ⚠️
Lynch never explained Mulholland Drive, but most viewers and critics agree on one reading.
After Betty and Rita visit Club Silencio, a blue box appears in Betty’s purse. Rita opens it with the blue key, and the world we know collapses.
The first two thirds of the film are a dream. Betty is the idealized version of Diane Selwyn (also Naomi Watts), a failed and depressed actress. Rita is Camilla Rhodes, the woman Diane loved, who left her for the director Adam Kesher.
In reality, Camilla became a star while Diane got nothing. At a party at Adam’s house on Mulholland Drive, Camilla humiliates Diane and announces her engagement to Adam. Out of jealousy, Diane hires a hitman in a diner to kill Camilla. The hitman tells her she will find a blue key when the job is done.
The blue key lying on Diane’s coffee table means Camilla is dead. Diane’s dream was her way of rewriting her life: a version where she is talented and innocent, and Camilla is helpless and needs her.
Haunted by guilt and hallucinations, Diane shoots herself in her bed. The film ends at Club Silencio with a whispered word: “Silencio.”
Frequently Asked Questions About:
"Mulholland Drive"
Is Betty a dream in Mulholland Drive?
The most common reading says yes. Betty is the dream version of Diane Selwyn, a failed actress who reimagines her life as a hopeful newcomer to escape guilt and despair.
What does the blue key mean in Mulholland Drive?
The hitman tells Diane that a blue key will appear when Camilla has been killed. When Diane sees the key, she knows her lover is dead.
What is the meaning of Club Silencio?
At Club Silencio, a host explains that everything is an illusion: “There is no band.” It’s the moment when Betty’s dream begins to fall apart, just before the blue box opens.
Was Mulholland Drive supposed to be a TV series?
Yes. Lynch first shot it as a pilot for ABC. The network rejected it, and Lynch later added a new ending to turn it into a feature film.
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