The Song(s): I've Told Every Little Star by Linda Scott
The Film:
Mulholland Drive is arguably the finest film made in the United States this millennium. The only U.S. film listed made post-2000 in the Sight and Sound list from 2012 is a two-and-a-half-hour winding trail through different characters and plots. It also happens to be my all-time favorite movie. We follow the story of a young woman named Betty (Naomi Watts) who comes to Hollywood from Canada with bright eyes and dreams of being an actress. She finds a woman who calls herself Rita (Laura Elena Harring) but truly doesn't know her name by way of having been in a car accident. We meet a director (Justin Theroux) who loses his wife to an affair and control of his movie. We see plenty of other side characters as well. But, things are not what they seem, and as we go deeper and deeper down the rabbit's hole, things quickly unravel.
The Scene:
The given scene features two songs, both very similar in tone. This is an audition scene and we start with a rendition of 'Sixteen Reasons' by Connie Stevens. Our first girl's audition finishes and we then meet our second auditioner, Camil.a Rhodes. The director, Adam Kesher, has been given orders to cast Camilla as the lead actress in this film. She goes through a rendition of 'Every Little Star' by Linda Scott and during the song, Kesher tells the studio higher-ups that, "This is the girl."
The Usage:
When looking at this scene, I think the juxtaposition of the two singers and audition scenes themselves are powerful. Take the first scene with the brunette. She is surrounded by back-up singers in her scene and we see a very cinematic pan-out. The scene feels as though it shimmers like her dress, to me it feels very beautiful. But then Camilla walks into the frame. We have a close-up in on her as she walks into the booth, something we don't get for the first girl, and she looks nervous. As the song starts it almost feels distant, the odd echo effect in the song makes it feel like we are not getting the full volume of the song itself. There are no pan-outs, whenever we see Camilla the camera stays very still. Immediately coming after a much more jovial audition, this feels unsettling to watch.
It's important to also parallel with the very first audition scene we see in the film that happens immediately before these two -- Betty's audition.
In this scene, we see that Betty is an acting star despite seemingly never having professionally acted before. The scene features awful dialogue that is mocked by Betty and Rita just scenes before, but it takes a whole different (rather uncomfortable) meaning within this scene. She is widely praised by seemingly everyone but a clueless director named Bob Brooker. She is nervous at first but compare Camila's scene, where all she is doing is lip-synching a song, to Betty's. Where Camila seems to be glancing elsewhere and still nervous while auditioning, Betty is giving a tour de force in a highly-tense and emotional scene.
David Lynch's works are always intended to have multiple meanings. Every little aspect can be mulled over in multiple ways. However, my interpretation of this scene requires delving into spoiler territory so be warned!
The most widely-held reading of the film, and the one that I subscribe to, is that the first two hours of Mulholland Drive are either a dream or dying fantasy of the real-life Diane Selwyn, who projects herself into a dream character of Betty (both characters are played by Watts). The song 'Every Little Star' features the lyric, "I've told every little star, just how sweet I think you are. Why haven't I told you?" Likewise, the other song used in the audition sequence is a list of "Sixteen Reasons" why the singer of the song loves someone. This draws parallels with the relationship that Diane has with the woman who appears to be Rita, but is actually the real-life Camilla Rhodes (both played by Harring). The two of them are in a romantic relationship but Camilla is set to be married to the director, Adam. These songs represent much of the feeling that Diane has for Camilla but cannot out and say due to the wholly sexual nature of their relationship.
There's way more to talk about in regards to this film. But I don't want to spoil it any more for those of you who may not have seen it. It is well worth your time and energy to spend the time watching the movie then doing your own research about meanings! It even has its own fan-made website that, while lacking in modern design, has plenty of theories and character details that I have missed even upon my countless viewings! To simply put it, there are FAR more than sixteen reasons as to why I love Mulholland Drive.
Comments
Post a Comment