Does anyone else agree that it could be considered unlikely that Diane would simply entrust Joe to carry out her wishes that she claims she wants more then anything else in this world ? One point of view is that Diane has also lost her grip on reality by the comment made by Joe (don't show me this here). This shows us : One: Diane is not concerned with consequences, I did not consider this until I read other posts, but I guess that could lead one to believe if Diane is not thinking or acting like a person concerned with the possibility of being connected with a possible murder then why would Diane be at all concerned or even considered the possibility that Joe could in some way set her up or what is stopping Joe from simply taking all the money she just handed over to him and doing nothing at all- or better yet doing something contrary to Diane's wishes? I wanted to just present an idea at first and felt there was a strong basis for this belief that there was no way Diane could or would not have some sort of way of covering herself and seeing to it that this is carried out because this is something, she at least believes at the time she wants so badly. But the more I write I can begin to conclude that there are several ways it could play out.. I thought I had such a strong case to prove this theory. anyway the theory I am referring to is that if we except that diner scene is a flashback reality part between Diane and Joe then I was becoming convinced and very certain that because this is so important to Diane she would surely not just entrust Joe to carry out her wishes and I assume she expects him to do so for a unknown amount of cash. Ive read the original pilot stated the money Rita has will be later revealed as $125,000 and the actual money Diane has in reality is around $50,00 although that amount is not actually disclosed. But by the looks of Diane's purse it can be shown and agreed upon that it is a lesser amount then Rita's. As to what really occurred and what Diane has dreamed- could it point to some reality that Diane's money could not buy Diane any contentment and in some truth that Camilla had more money to ? Buy her way out of being "hit" or not . What I am more certain of is that if a hit was planned it was to be done by way of the limo ride and the black book business and IF Joe was to be trusted it was not of his own accord, it was because Joe is working with connected people who have a mutual interest in this hit taking place. That is maybe why in the dream it is not Joe as the hit man but two more professional assassin types which would account for the money in the limo being in my opinion the full amount. Certainly the dream portion with Joe and Ed show how it is quite believable that Joe is not the best man to do a job. I know others are of the opinion that it is being dreamed in this way by Diane because she wishes this to be true and undo what she put into motion on Camilla, I do agree to some extent but I consider that Diane may be dreaming a part truth of some of the circumstances that Joe was a bit incompetent, and she does not need this to be either a reality or a non-reality to make Camilla alive again anyway, she has already successfully accomplished that by allowing Camilla/Rita to survive by the car accident. This is the way she wanted it I believe exactly, also having Camilla/Rita survive with no memory no identity. I have also considered a scenario where Diane goes so far as to even advise a easy way in which to carry this hit out on Camilla. For real, but not shown . Most likely she shared this with Joe and he passed it on to the limo drivers. Maybe it was becoming a customary practice of Camilla's to have the limo driver stop and surprise another one of Camilla's guests one of her new choices, the one Diane was being replaced with, the blonde Camilla. And in reality the hit took place as the limo driver was driving the blonde Camilla to Mulholland Drive and as they are both walking in the wooded area the secret path the Camilla's are shot dead yet it is possible that the blonde Camilla was not to be killed but had to be because she was a witness something that maybe Diane knew could occur but the hit men did not. There is evidence to this, in a way, by the dream and the missing and recasting that included the other Camilla. Also the dream hit with innocent witnesses . Or maybe not? If anyone has any insights to share I would welcome both how this is plausible as well as how this is not as plausible and what you believe are the holes in this theory.

That struck me as odd as well. Initially I fell for the dream/reality dichotomy. Becoming more familiar with David Lynch's work I am beginning to not trust my first early impressions of Mulholland Dr. The trick being a visual trick, transition to what seems dream like to harsh reality where they may be no division at all or in this transition we witness a similar play taking place in a completely different reality, one that is the streets verses the one that came before which was Hollywood. The Castigliane brothers strong arming for a particular choice who's real power lay behind a glass wall in a puny decrepit man, juxtaposed with a deshevelled and desperated Diane, who also say's "this is the girl" and who's only power and guarantee comes from a wad of cash..

Let's take the two limo scenes of Mulholland Dr. The first one at the beginning with a dark haired woman we may believe is Rita/Camilla or someone else entirely, being driven by two unnamed persons. What limo has two drivers? Second, we have a limo on Mulholland Dr. with who we think is a blonde named Diane/Betty or someone else entirely, again, two unnamed persons, one driver, one in passenger seat next to the driver. In both scenes they are being take somewhere. If Camilla is living with Adam at a house atop Mulholland Dr. she wouldn't call a Limo to have herself taken to her own party, we all can agree on that, this also is where we perceive a dream narrative to really begin, the story proper.

Later in the film we have a limo, like before pick up or we are led to believe pick up Diane at her "house", the woman on the phone we believe is Camilla says it is waiting outside her house. It is also noted that she gives her the address for which many have wondered why she would need it if a limo was taking her. So we have a limo, two drivers up front and Diane in the back, they stop to be met by Camilla for a trip through the weeds and thickets? Makes no senses. If we assumed the first limo scene was a portion of a dream, and the second was the real scene where it takes place presumably BEFORE a hit on Camilla takes place. why would Diane say "what are you doing? we don't stop here"?

My feeling of late has been that it is Diane who was murdered/killed/dies, Betty in her time, this is why Adam is recasting the lead, this is why he appears transfixed and disturbed when he sees Betty/Diane when she crosses over into his studio and they make eye contact. This is why he doesn't want Camilla Rhodes in his film, this is why it wasn't Camillas talent alone that helped her. There is a lot of room for this theory and many of the loose ends can tie into it, it's one I've been working on.

You have thought of scenarios I had not yet considered. True about the Limo drivers in both cases there are two upfront and that is not normally the case. There are instances when someone is being escorted, driven in a vehicle they are in the backseat and two passengers can be up front one is the driver, obviously and the other is their agent or personal assistant. Good point about the address but that could be why Diane says what are you doing we don't stop here--this isn't 6980!. Any women alone in a car with two men might feel bit alarmed at the time the vehicle stops alone the roadside of" nothing," would it be more believable if Rita/Camilla said "what are you doing? we don't stop here" and Diane said "what are you doing? why are we stopping here?" because although they both said the same thing, I noticed and it looked to me like by Diane's body language and demeanor that is just what she said in essence. And why give the address? Camilla said the address to Diane, does that indicate she planned to have the driver stop there and just in case Camilla was late, Diane would not be lost!. I see your point there is evidence of this theory. But what are you believing the reality to be? I originally watched MD twice, once more then half way thru and the second in it's entirety and honestly I never thought or even considered any part of it a dream the closest I could wrap my brain around was some type of parallel universes and connecting two people together that were in different plains of existence. Then I thought it was factual that it was a dream up until the knock at the door when we really see Diane for the first time. I also felt dense for not seeing that at all that this beginning part was a dream, Then I embraced the dream/reality parts because I guess I could almost understand it better. I do not want to simply embrace the dream/reality simply because it gives me answers or easier answers I truly thought this was a "fact". If we are the examples of characters in this film as the viewers then I am a "Rita" I have no other David Lynch films to draw my conclusions from, expect for Dune, which I am not sure counts! I did notice a different range of points of view from those who are familiar with his works. I have since then seen Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart.