Occasional Evenings: Mulholland Drive — a Screening and Discussion

In the wake of his recent death, David Lynch has been eulogized as one of film and television’s most daring auteurs. Perhaps no work in his oeuvre is more emblematic of his style, or more celebrated, than Mulholland Drive (2001). Set in Los Angeles, variably intertwined, simultaneous plotlines follow an aspiring actress fresh from small-town Canada, a concussed amnesiac, and a surly Hollywood director as they navigate the various forces—from the depths of the unconscious to the highest realms of power—that exert a mysterious control over their lives and actions. In Mulholland Drive, we see all the hallmarks of the “Lynchian” style, where classical Hollywood meets bold formal experimentation, sunny optimism clashes with nightmarish noir, and narrative throughlines splinter or disappear altogether—all in the service of exploring the illusory dream fulfillment fostered by the culture industry and the fragility of our grasp on reality. And punctuating Mulholland Drive is one of the great upendings in cinematic history, as the film’s first two-thirds are radically disrupted en route to a feverish denouement. 

Join us Friday, February 14th, at BISR Central, for a special Valentine’s Day screening and discussion of Mulholland Drive with BISR faculty Isi Litke, Ajay Singh Chaudhary, and Rebecca Ariel Porte. Before the screening, we’ll consider the formal signatures, narrative peculiarities, and thematic preoccupations that define the Lynchian style. How has Lynch informed our understanding of film, surrealism, and the psyche? How, for Lynch, does the human creative impulse both flourish and collapse before the pulverizing imperatives of the mass culture industry? What is the nature of identity in the face of the elusive, mysterious forces and figures that curb and control individual agency?

The event is free to attend, with a suggested $10 donation. Beer, wine, seltzer, and snacks will be served. Doors open at 6:45pm; the screening will begin at 7pm sharp. Please RSVP below.

Event Schedule

Friday, 7:00pm ET
February 14, 2025

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