Title/Year: Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Director/Birth Country/Year Born: David Lynch,
Budget: $15,000,000 (estimated)
Gross: $20,112,339 (Worldwide)
Synopsis: An actress wanting to become the next Hollywood star is confronted with an absent - minded woman trying to figure out who she is. By agreeing to help, both embark on a journey of twists and turns in the big city of LA.
Narrative and Visual Keywords: drama, romance, lust, car accident, LA, hollywood,
deceitfulness, betrayal, murder, vulnerability, mystery, dark, suspenseful, erotic.
Characterization/ Dialogue: Naomi Watts plays Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn, one an inspired actress who can't control the romantic feelings she has for Laura Herring's character Rita, helping her solve the mystery of who she really is, and the other who is jealous of Laura Herring's self character's stardom,and romantic involvement with Justin Theroux's character Adam Kesher. Because of her deep affection towards Rita, Diane will go to far extents to not let anything stand between her and her lover Laura Elena Herring.
Camera/lighting/editing technique: The lighting varied from high key/low contrast and low key lighting. There was natural light, outdoors during the day shoots and the city light the environment during the night. Indoors there were a few types, "spotlights" were used, but often times they were area lights to create the indoor light settings. The film was greatly driven by emotion, therefore many times close- ups were used, two-shots, all were for the revealing of the characters and their emotions.
1. "Notice factor." Why was their first film received well- what set it apart from other films being released. Essentially, what made these now mainstream directors seem fresh upon their first release?
- His first film "Eraserhead" was a B&W experimental film shot on a low budget over several years which he created to show everyone what exactly his style is and who is willing to accept it or reject it. This film pleased the critics and the audience, calling David the "re-inventor of experimental film." Mel Brooks after watching the movie and being interested in David's style, had David direct his next big feature "The Elephant Man." After that his career sky-rocketed and he went on to make more films all driven by his visionary style, "Eraserhead" soon after became a cult - classic.
2. "Emerging Talent" What signature stylistic tendencies are apparent even in work that is embryonic?
- If we're still talking about "Eraserhead" then in that film, there was little to few dialogue, it was heavily driven by ambient sound and surreal visuals. Even "Mullholand Dr." was driven by those two aspects, even though it had more dialogue and more of a story to it.
3. "Evolution of Vision" Has the vision of the director become evolved/ integrated or dispersed/ unidentifiable.
Personal: Do you prefer this director's early works or later works?
- I've only seen " Eraserhead" and "Mulholland Dr." as assigned. I definitely enjoyed "Mullholand Dr." better, because to me it had more to tell. More of a story, less experimental, but it still carried those aspects of which the director is known for. So yes, it has evolved, but the roots are still the same. I didn't really enjoy "Eraserhead." Although it was creative and has great ambient sound fx, to me the movie was just too slow, too confusing. Obviously "Mullholand Dr." was made with a bigger budget, therefore David was able to create a lot more with it, and didn't have much limitations as he did with "Eraserhead" as far as equipment, budget, actors.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166924/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000186/
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/article.php?id=31
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