It's been several months since watching Mulholland Drive in the
cinema, and I still can't get over that last third of the film. Part
of me is frustrated that the story went off tangent, part of me is
frustrated because I have the feeling that I just don't get it.

I thought the DVD would explain it all for me, but the review in
Premiere magazine says that there is none there. Film interpretation
is not my strong point, so, to paraphrase Denzel Washington in
Philadelphia, I need someone to explain this to me like I'm a six
year-old.

By the way, I once glimpsed a multi-page article at slate.com which
served as a makeshift solution to the film. This might help...

The original Salon article:
http://dir.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2001/10/23/mulholland_drive_analysis/index.html

Some British critics:
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,634856,00.html

Salon readers:
http://dir.salon.com/ent/letters/2001/10/26/mulholland_drive/index.html

"The more unknowable the mystery, the more beautiful it is." 
David Lynch

If you still can't get the movie out of your head, I'm inclined to say
it was a very successful one.
Lynch's strength undoubtedly is to create dreamlike, surreal imagery.
It's a fine line between making complete sense and not making sense at
all, and he's walking it with great skill. You hold your breath
because you think you almost know what's going on -- but not quite.

Oftentimes we get the same emotional impact shortly before we fall
asleep, when we daze off into the realms of unconsciousness; what one
second ago made sense seems utterly nonsensical, and what two seconds
ago was very important to us, we already forgot.

You might take comfort in the fact that a movie, or any other work of
art, is not necessarily meant to be understood, but to challenge you
by exposing the absurd, mysterious, impossible, incomprehensible, yet
life-like. It might be communicating to your subconscious, and you
"got" it all along -- without even realizing it. Whatever it meant to
somebody else can not shed more light on what it meant to you. Or, to
quote Stanley Kubrick, "How could we possibly appreciate the Mona Lisa
if Leonardo had written at the bottom of the canvas: 'The lady is
smiling because she is hiding a secret from her lover.'"

The last half (or third) of the movie actually comes before the first
half chronologically. (I don't remember the people's names but,) in
the last half, the blonde girl comes to hollywood and falls in love
with the brunette girl, but the brunette breaks up with the blonde
which sends the blonde girl into a jealous depression. the blonde girl
gets the brunette killed off, which fills her full of guilt
(represented by those old tourist people). eventually the blonde girl
kills herself, and falls into a dream. this is what's confusing. the
dead-dream is the first half of the movie. she dreams that the
brunette girl is totally dependant on the blonde girl. when they go to
the house of the brunette's friend and find the dead girl, she's
actually seeing herself dead on the bed.

I hope this clarifies things.. after you figure this part out, the
rest mostly falls into place.

jesse skinner

I liked the Salon.com article, but found this one even more helpful:
http://www.themodernword.com/mulholland_drive.html

I've also formed a few opinions of my own; I encourage you to do the
same. I think that the possibility for multiple interpretations is
intentional.

I loved this film.