4. Fantasy vs. Reality in Two Films—Different Approaches, Different Outcomes

As much as I covet snatching a brass ring by discussing reality and fantasy in both Mulholland Dr. and Black Mirror, reluctantly, I will forfeit that golden opportunity by substituting another film for Black Mirror—American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000). Mulholland Dr. and American Psycho characterize reality and fantasy, but each film approaches that task differently. I will describe the two approaches and how each film achieves a different outcome.

David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. is so convoluted that what is real and what is unreal is left to the viewer’s imagination. The film abounds with dead end plots (for example, the first diner scene, the limo ride by the elderly couple, and the hit man’s assassination of three peripheral characters and a vacuum cleaner) and assorted McGuffins (such as the black address book and the blue box). The general consensus that the first half of the film depicts “Betty’s” dream fantasies and the second half her (or “Diane’s”) real world could be interpreted differently. One could argue that the so-called dream and real portions of the film are reversible. That is, the first part of the film tells of Betty’s real success as an actress and sexual fulfillment while the second half describes her dreams (or nightmares) of professional and relational ruinations. No one can be sure of which scenario reflects Lynch’s intent but Lynch.

In contrast to Mulholland Dr., in American Psycho, the difference between reality and fantasy should be obvious to the viewer early into the film. American Psycho is the tale of a Wall Street investment executive who experiences bouts of psychopathic delusions, which he cannot distinguish from reality. However, these fantasies are so bizarre that the viewer should have no problem separating the real from the unreal. For example, in one fantasy, the protagonist hacks to death a colleague using a shiny chrome fireman’s axe. He then casually drags the body across the floor of his apartment building’s lobby in full view a security desk guard leaving a trail of blood. The guard ignored this activity as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. The viewer likely will realize that the scene is a psychotic fantasy especially compared to other more mundane sequences showing the protagonist’s everyday business activities. Compared to Mulholland Dr., the differences between fantasy and reality in American Psycho seemed obvious.

These films creatively, but differently, juxtaposed the real and unreal. Whereas Mulholland Dr. seemed convoluted, unresolved, and provocative, American Psycho was well structured, unpredictable, and understandable.