Mulholland Drive
2001
David Lynch
147 min
Thriller, Drama, Mystery
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.
The Conversation
Lynch’s surrealist masterpiece remains critics’ consensus pick for the century’s greatest film. With stellar scores (84% RT Critics, 87 Metacritic), Mulholland Drive earns widespread acclaim from Roger Ebert, who called it an “absolutely uncompromising” dreamscape, and Peter Bradshaw’s five-star Guardian review praising its “powerfully erotic” dimension. The Big Picture ranked it sixth-best movie of the 21st century, while both IndieWire and Film School Rejects champion it as Lynch’s essential work. Don’t miss Paste Magazine’s fascinating post-structuralist analysis applying Derrida’s framework to unlock the film’s deliberately ambiguous narrative layers.
The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 6 - 'Mulholland Drive'
2025-11-05
The Big Picture ranks Mulholland Drive as the 6th best movie of the 21st century.
"War for the Planet of the Apes," "Mulholland Drive," "Kicking and Screaming"
2017-07-17
Tim Grierson and Will Leitch revisit Mulholland Drive.
Mulholland Drive
By Roger Ebert
2001-10-12
Ebert's original review: 'a surrealist dreamscape in the form of a Hollywood film noir.'
A Twisted Road Through a Landscape of Dreams
By Roger Ebert
2002-01-01
Ebert's Great Movies essay on Mulholland Drive, praising Lynch for being 'absolutely uncompromising.'
Mulholland Drive: How Lynch Manipulates You
2016-05-11
Nerdwriter's 9-minute essay on how Lynch subverts audience expectations, focusing on Betty's audition scene.
Why 'Mulholland Drive' Is the Essential David Lynch
2017-05-20
An essay on why Mulholland Drive is the definitive entry point to David Lynch's filmography.
Lynch on Mulholland Dr.
2015-10-27
Lynch discusses the character of Diane/Betty and why he believes people already know what the film means to them.
Mulholland Drive: Things You Didn't Know
2017-01-20
IndieWire collects behind-the-scenes facts about the making of Mulholland Drive.
Highlights from the Criterion Collection Interviews with David Lynch, Naomi Watts & More
2015-10-30
Key moments from the Criterion interviews with Lynch, Watts, Harring, and Theroux about making the film.
Why David Lynch's Mulholland Drive Is the Best Movie of the Century
2016-08-23
IndieWire makes the case for Mulholland Drive as the greatest film of the 21st century.
Mulholland Drive review – David Lynch's delirious masterpiece still stands tall
By Peter Bradshaw
2017-04-14
Bradshaw's five-star re-release review calls it 'as brilliant and disquieting as anything Lynch has ever done' with 'a powerfully erotic and humanly intimate dimension.'
Mulholland Drive review
By Unknown
2001-12-01
Empire's original review of Lynch's labyrinthine Hollywood noir, praising Naomi Watts' breakthrough performance.
Mulholland Drive: Post-Structuralism Makes Sense of David Lynch
By Unknown
2020-01-01
Academic-leaning review applying Derrida's post-structuralist framework to unlock the meaning of Lynch's deliberately ambiguous narrative.
The Terrible Secret of Mulholland Drive
By Rosseter
2020-09-27
Deep analysis addressing the Blue-Haired Woman, Club Silencio, the Cowboy, the man behind Winkie's, and who really is Camilla Rhodes.
Mulholland Drive with Leslye Headland
By Griffin Newman, David Sims
2024-11-17
Episode 504 of the Twin Pods: Fire Cast With Me David Lynch miniseries. Nearly 4-hour deep dive with guest Leslye Headland.
Mulholland Drive - A Deep Dive into David Lynch's Freudian Fever Dream
2023-01-01
Episode #106. Cinephiles and Lynch fans discuss what makes this an archetypal David Lynch film along with its cultural impact.
Mulholland Drive (2001) & Unraveling the Mystery
By Aaron, Mark
2015-10-31
Episode covering the Criterion Collection release — production from pilot to feature, Naomi Watts' performance, and competing theories about the film.
The Malleability of 'Mulholland Drive' at 20
By Suzanne Enzerink
2021-05-16
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20th anniversary essay examining how the film's meaning shifts depending on the viewer's perspective, exploring themes of whiteness and cultural appropriation.
David Lynch Obituary
By Alexia Kannas
2025-01-01
Issue 112 obituary reflecting on Lynch's artistic practice, his relationship with Los Angeles, and his influence on cinema, with Mulholland Drive as a central work.
Creative Differences (Mulholland Drive Development Profile)
By Tad Friend
1999-09-06
Essential behind-the-scenes profile written when ABC passed on Mulholland Drive as a TV series, offering rare access to Lynch during the project's transformation.
Mulholland Drive Owes You No Explanation
By Tess Adair
2025-03-19
Post-Lynch-death essay arguing against the impulse to 'solve' the film, embracing its mystery as its power.
Revealed: the results of the 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll
2022-12-01
Mulholland Drive rose from #28 in 2012 to #8 in the 2022 poll — one of only two 21st-century films in the top 50.
Episode 296: Mulholland Dr (2001)
2016-11-08
Deep-dive with interviews with Laura Harring and Patrick Fischler on identity and obsession.
Mulholland Drive
2025-02-20
Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson take a surreal ride through the 2001 mind-bender.
Now Im in This Dream Place: Mulholland Drive Is Still Puzzling, 20 Years Later
By Sara Batkie
2021-10-13
20th anniversary reflection on how the films mystery resounds and confounds.
How Mulholland Drive Perfected the Art of the Jump Scare
By Greg Evans
2017-04-08
Analysis of how Lynch subverts jump scare conventions at Winkies Diner.
In Mulholland Drives Club Silencio, David Lynch Shows Us the Magic of Cinema
By Timothy Glaraton
2022-03-18
The Club Silencio sequence demonstrates cinemas fundamental magic.
Mulholland Dr. (The Definitives)
By Brian Eggert
2016-01-12
Comprehensive long-form review examining the film as a dreamlike Hollywood mystery.
David Lynch Interview on Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles and Crying at his Films
By John Dunning
2002-02-01
Rare 2002 interview where Lynch discusses the film as a love story and his relationship with LA.
Mulholland Drive Explained: Lets Go To Club Silencio
2021-01-01
Scene-by-scene explanation arguing the film is about the pressure to live a life that is not your own.