The One Time David Lynch Gave Us Clues To Unlock His Work

If there’s one thing that David Lynch’s passing on January 16, 2025 revealed, it’s that the filmmaker and artist had a profound and massive impact on so many people. This is, on paper, surprising, given how esoteric and offbeat his work has been throughout his career, not to mention how he has never apologized for it. An accomplished artist, Lynch confounded and delighted so many in equal measure because he was that rarest of creatures: a quintessentially American surrealist. Americans are somewhat accustomed to European filmmakers employing surrealism or symbolism; At least they can easily dismiss foreign directors as coming from a culture and tradition they don’t know or understand. Lynch doesn’t allow people the comfort of that answer, because even a cursory glance at his filmography reveals that it’s steeped in pure Americana: the wind blowing through the Douglas firs, the smell of fresh black coffee and hot and cherry pie from a small town restaurant, etc. These images, these elements, are so recognizable to Americans, and yet Lynch reveled in slightly changing their meaning, finding the threat and the disturbing, repressed secrets that lurk behind every Hollywood façade and white picket fence.

One of the most popular memes surrounding Lynch comes from an interview he gave with David Lean at the BAFTAsduring which he described “Eraserhead” as his “wittiest film.” When Lean asked Lynch to elaborate, Lynch flatly refused. This meme succinctly sums up Lynch’s usual approach to discussing his work, let alone decoding it, with the filmmaker determined to let audiences interpret his films in their own way. While it’s not a new or uncommon path for a director — Brady Corbet is currently dodging all sorts of questions of interpretation during his press tour for “The Brutalist,” for example — Lynch’s philosophy stands out both for how extremely interpretive his work is. is and how determined he has been throughout his career to never budge on that front.

Never, except on rare occasions. The more one digs into the additional documents that Lynch approved for official publication, the more (slightly) broader clues to his mysterious process and modes of creative thought can be found. Materials such as his books (especially “Room to Dream”) and behind-the-scenes footage (especially those released on domestic media “Inland Empire” and “Twin Peaks: The Return”) reveal a little of Lynch’s mystery. However, arguably the biggest key to decoding Lynch came via a flier he personally wrote to be included with the “Mulholland Dr.” DVD, a document which, whether level or not, is an excellent starting point for unlocking your work.

Of course, the first questions when faced with this document are why Lynch chose to suddenly give clues to decode one of his films, and why “Mulholland Dr.” especially. After all, this clip is currently making the rounds at the 74th Academy Awardsin which Roger Ebert spots Lynch in the press line and asks him a direct question about how many characters Naomi Watts plays in “Mulholland Dr.”, sees Lynch refusing to answer Ebert’s question with a “How are you doing?” , Roger? “And then there is this other clipin which Lynch eloquently summarizes his love of cinema as an art form and why he feels that many individual interpretations of his films are far more valuable than his own.

A simple answer to why Lynch would write the pamphlet included with the “Mulholland Dr.” The DVD (titled “Mulholland Drive: David Lynch’s 10 Clues to Unlocking This Thriller”) indicates that Lynch’s career was at a bit of a low point when “Mulholland Dr.” was in progress. The film began life as a TV pilot for Touchstone Television and ABC, with Lynch looking to return to the small screen after his success with “Twin Peaks.” After the phenomenon surrounding that series died down, Lynch experienced several financial and critical failures, with the now-beloved films “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” and “Lost Highway” struggling, a sitcom called ” On the Air” just hitting the market. air, and even his well-received film that proved he could branch out into all-ages films, “The Straight Story,” failed to recoup its budget at the box office.

After “Mulholland Dr.” was rejected by ABC, Lynch did a Hail Mary pass and decided to write and shoot additional material to make the pilot his own closed feature film (sort of, anyway). Fortunately, the featured version of “Mulholland Dr.” was acclaimed when it premiered at Cannes in 2001, and the buzz around it continued enough that it turned a profit when it was released by Universal Pictures later that year. So, Lynch may have been naturally twice shy about his work and its reception, which could have led to this DVD flyer and its clues.

However, Lynch appeared to exercise a large degree of creative control over the release of “Mulholland Dr.”, going so far as to send instructions for its screening to all theaters showing the film and insisting that the DVD release only feature no chapter stops. on disc, meaning the film had to be watched in one continuous sitting. In this way, the clue document is not for Lynch an acquiescence to public demand, but rather constitutes an additional piece of the puzzle of the film and his work that he had explicitly anticipated.

For those of you who have not read “Mulholland Dr.” In the clues document, you might think that these clues are pretty straightforward clues as to the larger meaning of the film’s layered narrative. Not so fast, as you can see:

1. “Pay particular attention to the beginning of the film: at least two clues are revealed before the credits.
2. Notice the appearance of the red lampshade.
3. Can you hear the title of the movie Adam Kesher is auditioning for? Is this still mentioned?
4. An accident is a terrible event: notice the location of the accident.
5. Who gives a key and why?
6. Notice the bathrobe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
7. What is felt, achieved and collected at Club Silencio?
8. Did talent alone help Camilla?
9. Note the events surrounding the man behind Winkie’s.
10. Where is Aunt Ruth? »

These clues are presented in Lynch’s inimitable style; they are both utterly simple and incredibly attractive. They are also very direct, with the questions worded like a public school quiz. The clues feel less like a Cliff’s Notes guide to the film and more like an extension of it, as lines like “Notice the appearances of the red lampshade” sound like the Cowboy (Monty Montgomery) telling Adam (Justin Theroux) what would happen if he does “good” or “bad”. There is an undeniable tension between the images, dialogue and scenes presented by Lynch and their elusive meanings, as even the biggest Lynch hater can sense that there is logic and intention at work in Lynch’s films. Lynch. In other words, these things all mean something, and aren’t just arbitrary quirk for quirk’s sake.

Much debate took place on message boards and other online forums regarding these clues and their actual answers, with many people getting frustrated because – big surprise here – they had differing opinions on the answers and what ‘they all constituted. The early 2000s were something of a golden age for filmmakers using their ability to discuss and present their films on physical media as a way to enhance and expand the impact of film; witness Christopher Nolan recording multiple endings of his commentary track for “Memento,” ensuring that no casual listener will come away with the same “definitive” explanation of that film’s events. These clues are Lynch’s version of this idea for “Mulholland Dr.” — other questions disguised as answers.

Ultimately, the clues document was a huge gift to fans of David Lynch and his work. It just wasn’t the gift it claimed to be, because while these clues may or may not unlock “Mulholland Dr.”, they certainly invite the audience to think and question more, which is all the interest. Yes, some people think that ambiguity is some sort of flaw or at least a source of frustration. Yet, at the risk of putting them down, these people simply fail to understand the allure and power of mystery. Honestly, maybe they lack imagination, and that’s their problem; neither that of the artist, nor ours. Luckily for them, there is a wide variety of art and entertainment out there, and there are certainly movies and TV shows that only require an awareness the size of a golf ball to understand.

Meanwhile, for those of us adventurous and imaginative enough, David Lynch’s work will continue to provide an inexhaustible source of thought, desire, confusion, fear and, above all, pleasure. Lynch was one of those artists who intrinsically understood that art is not a finite thing, that despite its completion and imprisonment within a certain canvas, a period of time, or something ephemeral, it can also be endless . Lynch’s dreams gave me mine, just as they gave theirs to countless others. His transcendentalist practices and philosophies made their way into his work, so much so that he was able to transcend the normal effect that all cinema can have, which is that any film can seem new with multiple viewings. With Lynch’s films, not only can you find new elements in them, but they also have the power to unlock new depths within your own soul and give you new clues to questions you may not have known before. not even been asked before.

In other words, David Lynch’s art is a living, breathing entity in its own right, and its availability and accessibility will ensure that it continues to be immortal. David has sadly passed away, but for many of us – through his work and in our hearts – he will never die.

“Who gives a key and why?” He gave it to us so that we could realize new dreams, forever.