In Greek tragedy, the chorus is a group of undefined, elderly characters who represent Fate,  usually providing a disengaged, sometimes even sarcastic commentary on the sufferings and experiences the hero is going through.

Do we find such characters in Mulholland Drive and if so, what is their role?

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In classical Greek tragedy, we have a hero undergoing various misfortunes, watched by Olympian Gods, with a disastrous end in most cases.

The chorus group is composed of twelve or fifteen figures, depending on the author's will, all wearing the same costume and mask. Their role in the play is to help the audience understand the progress of the story, without speeding it up, by giving clues regarding the characters. Actually, the chorus is like a messenger between the audience and the story, announcing that there may be a human level mixed up with a supernatural level of comprehension.

This concept is not obvious to catch in the movie, it is only perceptible in certain characters, but not as visibly as in a typical Greek tragedy. They are not a clearly identifiable group but only hazy appearances throughout the movie.

Four figures can be related to the chorus: the elderly couple met by Betty at the airport, the homeless monster outside the Winkie's, the neighbour banging on Betty's door, and last, the woman singing at El Silencio. They all appear during the so-called "pink part" of the movie: it is a kind of warning towards the viewer, who, at that time, is not aware yet that there will be a dream part and a real one within the same movie structure. During the real part of Diane's real life, we see the homeless man again, placing the blue box into a paper bag from which the old couple escapes. The old couple is seen one last time, pursuing Diane with their giggles before she commits suicide.

Each apparition refers to the previous scene, inducing a reflection on what has been shown up to that point, and also indicates a new scene. The old couple is related to the notion of movement ; indeed, they are here to accompany Betty, not only at the airport, but throughout her life in the city, up to her tragic end. We can think they symbolize Fate, for they already know what will happen to Betty (which is why they are laughing in the limousine). This is the major commonality with ancient Greek plays, in which the hero cannot escape what the Gods have decided for him, like a spider web, where all the movements you make to escape the trap ensnare you even deeper in it.

The monster outside the Winkie's is a supernatural and frightening figure, probably a hallucination created by Diane's sick mind, or a representation of death itself that you only see when you die. The neighbour, Louise Bonner, banging on Betty's door, may play the role of Greek prophetess Cassandra (or Greek oracle Pythia), giving enigmatic warnings about future events, without being really heard. This strange lady is only saying "someone is in trouble", then she is stopped in her prediction by Coco, who takes her back to her apartment. Finally, the singer in the theatre is a clear reference to the role of the chorus, which sang the sadness of the hero: Diane's feelings are revealed through this song, and that is why she is crying. Fate chases the hero once again, and the singer falls on the ground, another echo to the tragic end of this love story.

In addition to the discrepancy between a human and a supernatural reading of the facts, as found in ancient Greek tragedy, the movie obviously deals with the theme of common behaviour and the universe of mental illness. Betty's visions may be understood as symptoms of erotomania, a psychiatric pathology where a woman (in most cases) experiences the delirious idea of being loved by another person, of higher social status. Three clinical steps are described: hope (that the subject will be loved), disillusion and finally anger, where there is a great risk for the sick person to behave in a violent way: towards his "target" (up to murder like in M.D.) and/or towards himself (committing suicide). This mental illness may appear within a schizophrenic context where delirium is a very important part of the illness.

So in this movie we find clues reminiscent of the structure of ancient Greek plays: a Hero, Fate, Death, a Chorus, and strange prophetic characters. In Greek tragedy, destiny leads the hero to horrible crimes such as incest or parricide. In Mulholland Drive, Fate is Betty's mental sickness. She can escape neither of them, which were both determined upon her at birth, since mental illness may be congenital, according to various scientists.

 "Fate leads him who follows it, and drags him who resists." Plutarch.

This page was contributed by David Diaz, Aurélie Grass, Elena Gutu & Rosemonde Letricot  
March 17, 2005
Proofread by BM.