Related: Camilla is not dead
The Bribery Theory
The assertion here is that the money seen ready to be handed over by Diane to Joe in the Winkie's scene is not a payoff for a contract to kill Camilla, rather it is money paid to Joe to in some way influence the casting of Camilla in a film – starting her off on the road to stardom.
From this point of view, a case can be made that the Winkie's scene happens prior to the dinner party scene. This reading argues that Diane is remembering the Winkie’s scene at the moment of her betrayal. It's often implied that the dinner party is the breaking point for Diane and the moment that she makes the decision to have Camilla killed. Isn’t it possible that the connection between the two scenes is not Diane reaching breaking point then deciding to have Camilla hit, but rather Diane reaching breaking point because of the fact that the woman who she loved and helped has betrayed her. Considering that Diane might have used her money to make connections to further her own career rather than Camilla becomes a tragic irony – as the director is now marrying the girl that he didn’t want to cast. Thus Diane’s money is not only a missed opportunity for herself, but also ends up being a key factor in taking Camilla away from her. Another option is that Camilla got her big break with another director on the Sylvia North Story which led to a role with Adam Kesher. Either way it works against Diane's intent.
Diane’s suicide in these circumstances in explained by her lost love, failure in Hollywood and Camilla’s duplicity. Perhaps her stuff packed up in boxes is a suggestion that Diane is leaving Hollywood, returning home – a failure, another contributory factor towards her suicide. Is the blue key Diane is staring down on the coffee table a reminder of Diane’s heritance wasted on an untrue love?
Part of the inspiration for this theory is based around David Lynch's clue #8: Did talent alone help Camilla?
In Diane's dream, blonde Camilla Rhodes is forced upon director Adam Kesher by apparent mobsters the Castigliane Brothers. Kesher also takes a trip to see The Cowboy who reinforces the Castiglianes' "recommendation". Is this a reflection of real life, suggesting the real Camilla Rhodes was cast in a film against the will of a director? Certainly we can make the argument that it reflects reality, as it argued that other things do so.
So the answer to the clue would be: no, talent alone did not help Camilla – Diane (and her money) helped too.
Perhaps the hitman incident in the dream shows us Joe trying to move up in the world, knocking off Ed to get Ed's black book - numbers connected to wise guys i.e. guys that are 'connected.' The book might allow Joe access to guys that can put the right heat onto Adam. That Ed is connected to the mob can be assumed by the spaghetti & meatball poster behind his desk.
Diane tells us at the dinner party that Camilla helped her out by getting her some parts in some films. Was this Camilla's repayment to Diane? Was it more feasible that Camilla could get the role that Diane helped her to get, with Diane perhaps being more of an outsider or unknown quantity in Hollywood? So really the money was to further both their careers, with Camilla on the verge of becoming a breakout star - she just needed that perfect role. This leads us to consider the idea that if one person can make it in Hollywood it helps the people around that person as well. Was Diane expecting to be swept up and along on the coattails of Camilla's gravy train?
We need to believe that Lynch was quite deceptive with us. I don't think that noises tend to put people into flashbacks but to take them out of the daydream. We are shown Diane turning to react to the broken china at the party and we then see her turn her head to react to it in the diner (both places). But we don't hear crash, crash - we hear one crash. This would be very deceptive and while I know Lynch wants to put on a good mystery - that would seem to cross the line.
Problems with this interpretation:
Why should Diane give up the money to help Camilla get a part in the film when her own dream is to be a great actress/movie star? Is her love for Camilla that strong that she's willing to possibly pass up the chance of a career in Hollywood herself?
It could be quite difficult to imagine Joe as a guy connected enough to make something like the casting of an actress happen. Additionally Joe is not seen in the dream as necessarily connected to the Castiglianes and the casting of blonde Camilla. Instead he is seen scavenging the streets for a beat-up brunette ... looking to finish the job?