Naomi in her prime in Mulholland Drive (2001).
Same movie: Laura Harring
As I approach the crepuscule of life, one of the things on my bucket list is to someday understand what that movie is about. Unfortunately, I would probably have a better chance of being able to explain Finnegans Wake, mechanics and special relativity, or the popularity of the Kardashians.
Mechanics or quantum mechanics? Who are you going to believe, Harvard or some random guy on the Internet? (For the purpose of your answer, assume you are the current President of the United States.)
Also, some should tell the Car Talk guy about this.
I’ve never seen that scene brightened enough. Hopefully sometime, someone with the blu ray will make good, brightened caps. If they can do it with Salma in Ask the Dust, they can do it with Laura.
This was the film in which, for the DVD release, Lynch blurred out Harring’s bush in a key lovemaking scene. I always thought that was a cheesy move. She agreed to do the scene completely nude; it’s not up to Lynch to retroactively protect her privacy. Happily, the blurring is gone on the blu ray. Still a very dark scene though.
I remember that blurring, but I had forgotten (or never knew) that the Blu-Ray was issued without the blurring. Good info!
You’re probably right, but I deliberately chose that specific phrase because the hardest course at Harvard is “Physics 16: Mechanics and Special Relativity.”
I think you meant QUANTUM mechanics. Ordinary mechanics are easily understood by listening to old episodes of “Car Talk”.
Also, compared to something like “Eraserhead” or “Lost Highway”, Mulholland Drive is as clear as glass. It almost entirely one long dream, with the random jumps, disconnected vignettes, and flashes of real memories that happen in dreams. Naomi Watt’s character went to LA to become an actress. There she met Laura Harrington’s character, also a newcomer, and they have a torrid relationship.
But Harrington begins to hit the big time, while Watts gets nowhere, and their relationship crumbles. Watts works as a prostitute and makes enough money to have Harrington murdered. Watts cannot stand the guilt, and her mind starts to crumble. She dreams that Harrington escapes being murdered and instead gets movie-style amnesia.
In the dream, they then meet as strangers and begin to try and solve the mystery of who Harrington is and what is happening, and in the process, fall in love again. But this leads downward, to real memories of their past, interspersed with surreal scenes. Ultimately, Watts is finally awakened by a phone that has been ringing quite some while, and kills herself.
Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.