Why is Mulholland Drive a Great Film?

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Mulholland Drive, directed by David Lynch, is one of the greatest films ever made.

What is so great about it?

I grade a film on four criteria. These are:

1. Technical artistry
2. Storytelling artistry
3. Entertainment and
4. Art

A film must ace all four to be great. If you want to know the details of what makes a film read this:

Technical artistry

In the first few films of this series, we looked at directors who were masters of the visual medium. David Lynch, too, is a master at creating surreal visual imagery that blends in ways unique to his style. However, where he excels above other great directors is in sound design.

David Lynch is totally hands-on in sound design. Usually he’s credited as a sound designer as well. Not many people know this, but he had, maybe still has, his own studio where he experiments with creating different sounds to inspire him. He also produces music.

Sound and music is more a part of his artistic toolset than for most directors, and it is for this reason he deserves greater recognition than he has received.

Mulholland Drive is a mystery story, not in your typical sense, of course. It never is with David Lynch. He has never revealed what actually happens in the film, and it is open to interpretation. What is obvious though, to anyone who watches it, is the powerful music score and sound effects that force you to experience the film in the precise way the director intended it.

All it takes is a wrong song or sound effect to ruin a mood. The selection of sounds in this context is tricky. It’s not possible unless you’re knee deep passionate about sound design; and you’ve had years of experience to back it up.

An example is the famous early scene at Winkie’s.

It starts off simply enough, where you have a police siren and traffic outside. Then it moves into different soundscapes as the scene progresses. You’re not completely aware of the transitions. The traffic gives way to complete silence.

Then there’s a low rumble, and wind. It seems like the traffic is muffled, coming through a filter of some sort, like the sound you get in a subway – or what you hear when you close your ears with your hands.

These sounds build up and change during the course of the conversation, slowly and steadily, and it’s all leading up to their visit behind the diner, to what’s behind the wall.

Then there’s clicking sounds, raising the stakes as we get closer. Lynch drags it on, compounding the man’s misery, and ours.

And finally you get the jump scare. When he collapses the sounds are muffled again, and you hear heartbeats.

David Lynch is known for not moving the camera haphazardly. It’s always steady and precise. In the Winkie’s scene the camera sways, bobbing and weaving – totally unlike Lynch. Then it steadies as they move outside.

The jump scare is easily one of the greatest ever. In most horror films the jump comes from places that are not obvious. In Mulholland Drive, the director tells you right at the beginning where the scare is coming from, and it still catches us unawares.

That’s the difference between a great artist and a mediocre director.

It might not be jaw dropping, but the visual aspect of Mulholland Drive is worthy of attention. David Lynch constructs scenes as experiences. In most of his films, you’re never quite sure whether you’re watching a dream or a real scene. It’s true of Lost Highway, Blue Velvet or even his amazing TV series Twin Peaks, which I consider a finer work than Mulholland Drive.

By the way, here’s our analysis of Lost Highway and how to make a film about nothing (member only, Wolfcrow Lifetime Access):

Sometimes he resorts to cheesy effects, like the opening jitterbug sequence, or the camera following a person into a box, etc.

Most of the powerful emotional responses are achieved through the subject matter and the actors – and not mainly through camera craft.

Lastly, there’s editing. This is a movie every serious editor must study, because it shows a clear and accurate skill in putting together scenes that make sense on their own but don’t add up to anything.

The beauty of Mulholland Drive is you can’t take your eyes away for a second. There’s tons of suspense and thrilling moments. You feel you are part of this story and world, and can follow everything – except when things go sideways.

Even when that happens there’s enough mystery and interest to keep you at the edge of your seat. It’s like real life in a way, where people act in strange ways; the reasons for which aren’t clear, but what’s happening is interesting and you desperately want to know how everything turns out.

In real life everything  turns out one way or another, given enough time. A film has to end, though. David Lynch ends Mulholland Drive with most of our questions unanswered. It’s the greatest tease in film history, but that’s also a completely fair assessment. While watching the movie, we didn’t have any of these questions. It forms at the end.

The art direction of Mulholland Drive is also misleadingly minimal, but full of texture and color. David Lynch puts a lot of weight in production design and objects. 

Storytelling artistry

The acting in Mulholland Drive is exemplary. Lynch knows how to get the best out of his actors. Naomi Watts is easily the standout and carries the entire film.

In some ways she’s a marionette in Lynch’s hands, because she doesn’t really know what’s happening. It’s not like he gave her all the answers. To her credit she put her faith in him and trusted his instincts. You can see the result for yourself in the lovemaking scene, which I consider one of the best love making scenes in cinema – not because of what is shown – but because of the sheer electricity on display.

The writing is something that wouldn’t get past the first round in most screenplay competitions. The dialogue taken by itself is nonsensical and formal. But, the actors Lynch picks to say them changes everything.

A script is an important step in most films, but when we start talking about great films, the script takes a back seat. To most great directors the script is overrated because to them it’s just something to guide production. Everything magical happens in their head and on set the day of filming. Everything changes.

Here’s more on that (members only, Wolfcrow Lifetime Access):

Entertainment

Mulholland Drive recovered its money and has made a profit. It’s David Lynch’s most well-known and studied film. You should rewatch it at least once to see what you’ve missed  the first time around.

It’s also great entertainment. It’s a mystery suspense story on the surface, and it doesn’t frustrate you like a badly told mystery with loose ends. You seem to have all the clues, and if you can’t figure it out, that’s on you. You follow David Lynch’s leash to the very end.

The lack of a resolution might frustrate you, but the journey doesn’t. You will be thoroughly entertained.

Art

It’s not the job of art to provide answers. Good art delivers unforgettable moving experiences. The stronger the experience, the greater the art.

When this experience has layers upon layers of depth then you know it is the highest form of art. That’s what Mulholland Drive is.

You could put an ignoramus in front of a Monet and there would be empty air between them. People react differently to art. A student of cinema simply should be in awe of Mulholland Drive, which is why it is fifth on my list of 100 films to see before you die: