MovieChat Forums > Mulholland Dr. (2001) Discussion > Why was Camilla so cruel to Diane?

Why was Camilla so cruel to Diane?

posted 10 months ago by spiraleyes (18)
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So the movie never really explains why. But why does Camilla go out of her way to hurt Diane? She goes from saying, "You drive me wild," to "We shouldn't do this anymore," in the same moment while Diane wants to make love. Then during the car scene with Adam, Camilla asks for Diane to stay so she can see her making out with Adam. She then looks at Diane to make sure she saw; indicating she wanted to rub it in Diane's face that she has a different lover now. Then finally we have Camilla inviting Diane out to the party near Mulholland Drive. She brings her up a way where she wouldn't be seen by other guests of the party and then she's seated in a corner away from Camilla who is fondling and kissing Adam in front of her. Then the ultimate hurtful action she put Diane through was where Camilla is kissing another girl, obviously having an affair with a woman but not her and Diane breaks into tears and then leaves once it's announced Adam and Camilla are being married. Ultimately, Diane is so torn and shattered, she hires a hitman and wants Camilla dead, "More than anything in this world."

What was Camilla's intention with hurting Diane? What was her motivation in hurting Diane and rubbing it in her face that she has other lovers? Why was Camilla so cruel to Diane?

[–] Seperatrix (1214) 10 months ago

From her perspective, Camilla isn't being cruel. She's showing Dianne how to take a "short cut" to succeed in Hollywood. She wants Dianne to linger during the car scene rehearsal so that she can show her how to succeed at seduction. Camilla even says to Dianne "short cut" as she leads her up to the director house for the dinner party.

Speaking of which, at the dinner party we see Luigi Castigliane staring at Dianne. That's not just to show a familiar face from the beginning of the film for a cute tie-in. It's to show that important connections are there to be made. Even the Cowboy may be intimated as a john for aspiring actresses, hence his presence at the dinner party. We hear the following at Camilla's table during the same scene:

"Yo nunca fui a Casablanca con Luigi?"
"Que lastima"
"Que va?"

"I've never been to Casablanca with Luigi"
"Too bad"
"What does it matter?"

I interpret this dialogue as referring to Camilla and her method for getting ahead in Hollywood. Here we see Camilla's irritation and denial, basically lying here because she did. in fact, use her sexual advances to get ahead in Hollywood (and with Luigi no less - we see the power he has in casting decisions earlier in the film).

The only problem is that her fling with Dianne wasn't seen as a fling from Dianne's perspective. Dianne had fallen in love. Dianne wanted to advance in Hollywood too, but her love for Camilla came first. For Camilla it was always ambition first.

[–] Seperatrix (1214) 10 months ago

Adding to my post above. I forgot to mention a key scene when Camilla visits Dianne.

Camilla pleads "don't make it like this!" To which Dianne responds "Oh, sure. You want me to make this easy for you? No way. No fucking way - it's not gonna be! It's not easy for me!"

Camilla either doesn't understand why Dianne is so upset, or has just begun to realize why, so she pleads with Dianne, probably in an attempt to explain herself and why she did what she did with the director while Dianne was looking on.

And of course in a previous scene we see the Dianne and Camilla on the couch during which Camilla suggests to Dianne they shouldn't continue to do "this" (perhaps then realizing Dianne was treating their sexual adventures as more than a fling - sensing that Dianne is taking things far too seriously).

Camilla was all about the fling, but treated her ambitions first and foremost. She was trying to do Dianne a solid but Dianne fell in love and handled the realization that she and Camilla would not be together in the worst possible way.