Mulholland Drive

Dir. David Lynch. U.S. 2001, 146 mins. 35mm. With Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, Melissa George, Ann Miller, Rebekah Del Rio. Lynch’s serpentine masterwork is a Mobius strip-tease, each layer deepening the texture of its beating, broken heart. Bright-eyed Hollywood hopeful Betty Elms (Watts) arrives in the City of Dreams only to find a gorgeous amnesiac (Harring) hiding in her aunt’s home. As the two try to unlock the mystery of her past, their identities become destabilized and crash into one another. Lynch’s bleary and bewitching vision of Tinsel Town is defined by his deep empathy for his two female leads, whose bond—with all its frustration, eroticism, chemistry, blending, bleeding, and explosive desire—spans the feeling of cinema itself, conjured as much out of a nightmare as a dream.  

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.