I posted this elsewhere, originally, but I wanted to post it here as well. :) It is an idea I came up with today that began when I saw a 'connection' between Dan and Joe...so I'll start there.
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I think that the reason we see the Coin Laundry behind Joe is so that we can associate him with it...either he associates with 'dirty laundry' or the cleansing of 'dirty laundry'.

The same with Dan. When he steps outside of Winkie's we see a church across the street. Another place where one takes and cleanses 'dirty laundry'.

Dan and Joe sit in the same position inside Winkie's during these scenes. I think they may be one and the same.

Or, maybe, instead of one and same, they've been switched. And if switched, then 'Joe' is standing at the counter while Diane and 'Dan' talk at the table. This might explain the slight error with Joe's eyes in Ed's office...a little bit of 'Dan' peeking through...a clue to a 'switch'.

Now, if some switching is going on, then this film would be extremely difficult to figure out. But we hear about 'switching' from the neighbor.

While I'm on the subject of switching, then, let me posit this.

At the end of Betty and Rita's story, Betty poofed. In Diane and Camilla's story, it would only make sense that it was Laura Harring who would say "Camilla, you've come back!" But, that's not what happened. Were they switched? In other words, the character saying "Camilla, you've come back" is the same character who was left alone in Aunt Ruth's apartment to open the box...but the part is now being played by Naomi Watts instead of Laura Harring. Same character, different actress. This would explain the limo scenes. It was supposed to be Laura Harring making that ride again in the second half.

Now, I'm not saying that the ~character~ has been switched...I'm saying that who we see playing the parts of these characters have been switched. That is what is making it confusing.

The part of the girl was recast.

So is this the accident?

Now let's go back to the scene with Dan and Herb. I still posit that Dan is really looking into a mirror and not recognizing himself, so this makes him think he's looking through a wall and seeing someone else. Why? Because his reflection is supposed to be the image of the guy we know as Joe...he's supposed to be a blonde dude with blue eyes.

This explains Joe's boo-boos at Ed's. His part is being cast to the wrong person, and this person screws it all up. The part of Aunt Ruth, when looking for her keys, has been cast to the wrong person and therefore she doesn't know where the keys are. Either this or the apartment itself has been switched, so that the correctly cast Aunt Ruth doesn't know where she should find them.

Places being switched as well as actors/actresses can explain the reason why Diane's apartment looks so 50-ish. This apartment has been switched with either Havenhurst or the house we know as belonging to Adam. Due to the 'accident'.

Is this why we are intentionally shown the fountain in the courtyard at Havenhurst? To make a connection to the pool at Adam's? Look at the path Camilla and Diane take from the limo to reach Adam's poolside and then enter the home. Looks like the same path they would take from the street in front of Havenhurst all the way to the apartment - they would pass by the fountain. And they would have to climb at the start.

Don't forget Adam and Bob Brooker have been 'switched'. I think that the actor we saw as Bob is who was supposed to find his wife in bed with someone else.

Hmm...lots to think about.

(Just a side note - maybe the old-time light **switches** we see at Aunt Ruth's and at Betty's audition are a clue. Notice that they have a white button and a black button. Maybe this is a clue that blondes have been switched with brunettes.)

And...if places have been accidently 'switched', this would explain why B&R walk around Sierra Bonita for so long before arriving at Apartment 12. The 'script' called for a long walk, but they are not walking in the correct place. We assumed it was because Lynch wanted Sierra Bonita to seem like a larger place. Nope. (He's a genious!) What does this tell us about where they wound up? That corpse was something they were NOT supposed to stumble upon. It is the discovery of that corpse that caused Betty to put the wig on Rita. Putting the wig on Rita caused a further 'accident'...a blonde was suppose to open the box. Does this also mean that one or even both of them were NOT supposed to go to Club Silencio?

Also, Laura Harring tells Naomi (over the phone) "Go on...the car's right outside your house." You know that this line has always bothered us because there would be no way a car could be right outside her 'house'. There's a courtyard there.

It may be that the switching doesn't just stop within the film...it may apply to the whole dang film of Mulholland Dr. This would explain how the names of some of the production people for MD wind up on the board at Sierra Bonita. This would explain how Badalementi (sp?), the composer of the music, winds up as a character...and for the most part, just stares off into space. One of the dancers from the opening scene also wind up as a character...she becomes Bob's assistant.

So where did things get mixed up? Lol!

David Lynch, you sly dog!

"It's just for a night or two. Until she finds her own place. I tried to explain that to Aunt Ruth, but the connection was bad, and her plane was leaving, and she got it all mixed up."

There are many areas to examine with this idea in mind, but another area I wanted to point out was the photo resumes. They changed.

I always wondered why Cowboy said to Adam "When you see the girl that was shown to you today...". Why not just say "When you see Camilla Rhodes..."?

Maybe both photos we see are wrong. Maybe the photos are supposed to show Naomi. During the auditions, Adam sees Naomi. But he doesn't say it because it wasn't the girl he was 'shown'.

I'm starting to think that the stories in this film are the red herrings. I think we need to use the numbers, colors, themes, etc. to try to figure out who belongs where and with who and during what time period, etc. to figure out how the stories are really supposed to go. Everything is all mixed up.
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Something I thought of while typing 'red herring'. Red hair. Aunt Ruth has red hair. Aunt Ruth...A untruth. Does the sight of red hair and the mention of red hair mean an 'untruth' (lie?) is being told or shown? I think so now that I think about. The first thing that comes to mind is Rita saying "She has pretty red hair" and then Betty immediately saying "She's letting me stay here...". I always thought that this comment by Rita just seemed out of place and silly. But she says it because it's a clue...a clue that what Betty is now telling us is not true.

Maybe red in general denotes an 'untruth'.

So is Rita's sneaking into Havenhurst an 'untruth'? It's very possible that this is the case. Not only do we see Aunt Ruth, with her red hair, during this scene but we also see a red lamp burning on a balcony in Havenhurst. I think it is very possible that this is where Laura Harring lives/belongs.

Look at all the places where red (and a red-head) is used...

So if red denotes 'untruth' then maybe blue denotes 'truth'.

A box, key and book are blue.

If I remember correctly, both colors are used at Club Silencio.

vicster111 wrote:I always wondered why Cowboy said to Adam "When you see the girl that was shown to you today...". Why not just say "When you see Camilla Rhodes..."?

Maybe both photos we see are wrong. Maybe the photos are supposed to show Naomi. During the auditions, Adam sees Naomi. But he doesn't say it because it wasn't the girl he was 'shown'.

This is an interesting question.

I checked back on the original headshot used in the pilot and perhaps it's because no name was on it. In those circumstances I could possibly imagine that the wrong photo was used, leading to the wrong girl being cast. That's feasible, but guesswork about directions the series might have taken.