{"id":4109,"date":"2013-05-04T04:48:44","date_gmt":"2013-05-04T04:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/?p=4109"},"modified":"2013-11-18T13:29:06","modified_gmt":"2013-11-18T19:29:06","slug":"why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/","title":{"rendered":"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene &#8211; Why Is It So Mesmerizing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I saw David Lynch&#8217;s film Mulholland Drive a couple months ago. \u00a0The film is rather long at a running time of 147 minutes. \u00a0I liked it as a whole, but it didn&#8217;t stick with me.<\/p>\n<p>Well, this one scene stuck with me. \u00a0It&#8217;s a scene set in a diner, and occurs about 10 minutes into the movie. \u00a0It&#8217;s somewhat of a self-contained short film within the larger film. \u00a0You don&#8217;t really need to know anything about what precedes or follows it.\u00a0The scene features two characters that don&#8217;t figure prominently in the plot (one shows up in a cameo later &#8212; if the other one shows up, I missed it).<\/p>\n<p>The movie was available via Netflix Streaming, and I found myself watching the diner scene again and again. \u00a0Sadly, the film isn&#8217;t available to stream any more, though some kind soul has uploaded the scene in its entirety to YouTube\u00a0<del>Vimeo<\/del>.<\/p>\n<p>Here, watch it (my apologies for the poor quality &#8211; there was a nice clip of this on Vimeo that has since been taken down):<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_26153\"  width=\"474\" height=\"267\"  data-origwidth=\"474\" data-origheight=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dGneKSUbDsc?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWhy does this scene resonate so much with me? \u00a0There are strange things about it. \u00a0Dan, the dark-haired man, seems to vacilliate between naturalistic acting and a more stilted line delivery. \u00a0It&#8217;s hypnotic. \u00a0Also, note how the camera doesn&#8217;t stay still during what could be a very static, stereotypical two-person dialogue scene. \u00a0The camera seems to be handheld, and actually is very slightly raising and lowering, hovering during the scene.<\/p>\n<p>By the time they leave the diner to see if &#8220;the \u00a0man&#8221; is back behind the alley, the tension is already ratcheted up to a high level. \u00a0The scene takes mundane things and somehow makes them terrifying. \u00a0The pay phone, the taped-up back door spooks Dan because of its familiarity to him, and we are spooked in the process because Dan is spooked.<\/p>\n<p>The use of sound contributes to the scene. \u00a0Dan says something to his friend as they leave the diner, but you can&#8217;t hear him. \u00a0When &#8220;the man&#8221; appears, the sound gets incredibly loud, then becomes muffled as Dan collapses.<\/p>\n<p>Hell, I&#8217;m describing WHAT happens, but I don&#8217;t know HOW it happens. \u00a0I don&#8217;t know why this scene is so riveting to me.<\/p>\n<p>Thoughts? Does it affect you? \u00a0If so, why?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a snippet of the script for this scene, taken from \u00a0<a title=\"LynchNet\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lynchnet.com\/mdrive\/mdscript.html\" target=\"_blank\">LynchNet<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>I think the movie improves upon the script (for example, showing Dan didn&#8217;t eat his breakfast right before they leave the diner, rather than have Herb announce that Dan is not hungry).<\/p>\n<pre>INT. DENNY'S RESTAURANT , HOLLYWOOD - MORNING\r\n\r\nTwo well-dressed men HERB and DAN (mid 30's) are sitting at a\r\ntable drinking coffee. Herb has finished eating his\r\nbreakfast, but Dan hasn't touched his bacon and eggs - he\r\nappears too nervous to eat. A blonde waitress with a\r\nnameplate saying \"DIANE\" lays the check on their table\r\nsmiles, then walks off.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tWhy did you want to go to breakfast if\r\n\t\tyou're not hungry?\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tI just wanted to come here.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tTo Denny's? I wasn't going to say\r\n\t\tanything, but why Denny's?\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tThis Denny's.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tOkay. Why this Denny's?\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tIt's kind of embarrassing but,\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tGo ahead.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tI had a dream about this place.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tOh boy.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tYou see what I mean...\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tOkay, so you had a dream about this\r\n\t\tplace. Tell me.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tWell ... it's the second one I've had, but\r\n\t\tthey were both the same......they start\r\n\t\tout that I'm in here but it's not day or\r\n\t\tnight. It's kinda half night, but it\r\n\t\tlooks just like this except for the\r\n\t\tlight, but I'm scared like I can't tell\r\n\t\tya. Of all people you're standing right\r\n\t\tover there by that counter. You're in\r\n\t\tboth dreams and you're scared. I get\r\n\t\teven more frightened when I see how\r\n\t\tafraid you are and then I realize what it\r\n\t\tis - there's a man...in back of this\r\n\t\tplace. He's the one ... he's the one\r\n\t\tthat's doing it. I can see him through\r\n\t\tthe wall. I can see his face and I hope\r\n\t\tI never see that face ever outside a\r\n\t\tdream.\r\n\r\nHerb stares at Dan to see if he will continue. Dan looks\r\naround nervously, then stares at his uneaten food.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN (cont'd)\r\n\t\tThat's it.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tSo, you came to see if he's out there?\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tTo get rid of this god-awful feeling.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tRight then.\r\n\r\nHerb gets up, picks up the bill and goes to the cashier to\r\npay. Dan just sits.\r\n\r\nAs Herb is paying the bill he looks over at Dan just as Dan\r\nis turning to look at him. From Dan's point of view Herb is\r\nstanding in exactly the same spot as he stood in the dream.\r\nHerb gets a strange feeling, turns back and finishes up with\r\nthe cashier. He motions for Dan to follow him. Dan rises\r\nreluctantly and he and Herb make their way outside.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCUT TO:\r\n\r\nEXT. DENNY'S\r\n\r\nNow Herb waits for Dan to lead the way.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tDAN\r\n\t\tAround here.\r\n\r\nDan takes Herb across the front of Denny's to a narrow\r\nsidewalk that leads down the side toward the back.\r\n\r\nThey begin walking down the narrow sidewalk - past a\r\npayphone. Dan begins to sweat the nearer he gets to the rear\r\ncorner of the building. Red bricks glide by slowly.\r\n\r\nCLOSER ON DAN\r\n\r\nBeads of sweat cover his face. He finds it difficult to\r\nbreathe. Herb is just behind him unable to see the fear\r\novertaking his friend, but Herb can feel something himself.\r\n\r\nThe red bricks moving by now are coming to an end - the\r\ncorner is coming closer - the corner is now very close.\r\n\r\nSuddenly a man - a face ... a face dark and bum-like- moves\r\nquickly out from behind the corner and stops - freezes -\r\nstaring into Dan's eyes.\r\n\r\nDan lurches back. All his breath is suddenly gone. He falls\r\nback into Herb who tries to catch him as he's falling. Dan\r\nhits the ground unable to breathe - his eyes wide with\r\nhorror.\r\n\r\nHerb looks up - the man is gone. He looks down to Dan.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB\r\n\t\tDan! ... Dan! You all right? ... Dan!\r\n\r\nHe kneels down and studies his friend. He feels for a pulse\r\nin the neck. He listens for breathing. His friend is dead.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\tHERB (cont'd)\r\n\t\tMy God!<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I saw David Lynch&#8217;s film Mulholland Drive a couple months ago. \u00a0The film is rather long at a running time of 147 minutes. \u00a0I liked it as a whole, but it didn&#8217;t stick with me. Well, this one scene stuck with me. \u00a0It&#8217;s a scene set in a diner, and occurs about 10 minutes into &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene &#8211; Why Is It So Mesmerizing?<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,426],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies","category-see-a-scene"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene - Why Is It So Mesmerizing? - SPLOTCHY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking at a scene from Mulholland Drive, and wondering why it affects me so strongly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene - Why Is It So Mesmerizing? - SPLOTCHY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking at a scene from Mulholland Drive, and wondering why it affects me so strongly.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SPLOTCHY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-04T04:48:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-11-18T19:29:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene &#8211; Why Is It So Mesmerizing?\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-04T04:48:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-18T19:29:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":455,\"commentCount\":5,\"articleSection\":[\"movies\",\"see a scene\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene - Why Is It So Mesmerizing? - SPLOTCHY\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-04T04:48:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-18T19:29:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"description\":\"Looking at a scene from Mulholland Drive, and wondering why it affects me so strongly.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene &#8211; Why Is It So Mesmerizing?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SPLOTCHY\",\"description\":\"jung vf fcybgpul?\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/isplotchy.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene - Why Is It So Mesmerizing? - SPLOTCHY","description":"Looking at a scene from Mulholland Drive, and wondering why it affects me so strongly.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene - Why Is It So Mesmerizing? - SPLOTCHY","og_description":"Looking at a scene from Mulholland Drive, and wondering why it affects me so strongly.","og_url":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/","og_site_name":"SPLOTCHY","article_published_time":"2013-05-04T04:48:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-11-18T19:29:06+00:00","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene &#8211; Why Is It So Mesmerizing?","datePublished":"2013-05-04T04:48:44+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-18T19:29:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/"},"wordCount":455,"commentCount":5,"articleSection":["movies","see a scene"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/","url":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/","name":"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene - Why Is It So Mesmerizing? - SPLOTCHY","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-05-04T04:48:44+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-18T19:29:06+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"description":"Looking at a scene from Mulholland Drive, and wondering why it affects me so strongly.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/why-is-this-scene-so-mesmerizing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mulholland Drive, The Diner Scene &#8211; Why Is It So Mesmerizing?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/","name":"SPLOTCHY","description":"jung vf fcybgpul?","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/author\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3gWlt-14h","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4109"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4566,"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109\/revisions\/4566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}