History Film / LostHighway

** At the party, the Mystery Man claims to Fred that he is currently at Fred's house. When Fred tests the Mystery Man's claim by calling his house's landline, Fred finds himself speaking to the Mystery Man both in person and on the phone, the Mystery Man seemingly on both sides of the phone call. [[spoiler:Later, Fred pulls off the same trick by relaying the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self on the doorbell's intercom.]]

** At the party, the Mystery Man claims to Fred that he is currently at Fred's house. When Fred tests the Mystery Man's claim by calling his house's landline, Fred finds himself speaking to the Mystery Man both in person and on the phone, the Mystery Man seemingly on both sides of the phone call. [[spoiler:Later, the film reveals that Fred was the one who relayed the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to himself on the intercom at the beginning of the film.]]

* HairTriggerTemper: Robert Loggia's performance as Mr Eddy/Dick Laurent has two modes: Charming ebullience and terrifying, psychotic rage.

* FemmeFatale: Renee/Alice fits this as she is in a relationship with a gangster.

* MsFanservice: Renee/Alice, given that they're played by Patricia Arquette.

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: The Mystery Man appears as the dragon to Dick Laurent / Mr. Eddy but ends up 'helping' Fred / Pete kill him.]]

*** [[spoiler:Later, Alice abandons Fred and walks into the nearby cabin. When Fred enters the cabin at the Mystery Man's beckoning, he notices that the Mystery Man is the only occupant in the cabin and finds no sign of Alice, further establishing the connection between the Mystery Man and Alice.]]

* ShamefulStrip: Alice is forced to strip in front of the baddies at gun point.

** The titular lost highway represents a shift in reality. Every time the highway appears, it plays as a SceneTransition notably [[spoiler:at the opening and ending credits and whenever Fred/Pete changes into Pete/Fred. Because Fred is an UnreliableNarrator, it is suggested that this reality shift is actually metaphorical rather than literal.

** The titular lost highway represents a shift in reality. Every time the highway appears, it plays as a SceneTransition notably [[spoiler:at the opening and ending credits and whenever Fred/Pete changes into Pete/Fred. Because Fred is an UnreliableNarrator, it is suggested that this reality shift is actually metaphorical rather than literal. Fred is attempting to deny his own culpability in his wife's murder and his death by electric chair by first believing himself to be another person, who is innocent of the crimes he committed; when that doesn't work, he mentally loops the entirety of his delusions into an endless Möbius strip.]]

** In the first half of the film, Fred plays a saxophone solo at a night club. In the second half of the film, Pete hears the same saxophone solo playing from a radio.

* BookEnds: [[spoiler:Exaggerated as the film has a narrative structure similar to a Möbius Strip with the ending looping back to the opening of the film.]]

* TwoActStructure: The first act is about a man who struggles to make love to his wife while the second half is about a younger man who is a ChickMagnet. [[spoiler:The second half is suggested to be a fantasy of the first protagonist.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: Fred has a very interesting concept of truth and reality: "I like to remember things my own way. (...) How I remembered them. Not necessarily the way they happened." [[spoiler:With the sudden reveal that Fred murdered his wife and all the [[{{Surrealism}} dreamlike events]] occurring throughout the movie, the viewer has to question what exactly is the truth.]]

** The titular lost highway represents a shift in reality. Every time the highway appears, it plays as a SceneTransition notably [[spoiler:at the opening and ending credits and whenever Fred/Pete changes into Pete/Fred. Because of Fred is an UnreliableNarrator, it is suggested that this reality shift is actually metaphorical rather than literal. Fred is attempting to deny his own culpability in his wife's murder and his death by electric chair by first believing himself to be another person, who is innocent of the crimes he committed; when that doesn't work, he mentally loops the entirety of his delusions into an endless Möbius strip.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:It seems to be played straight with the ending reveal that Fred was the one who gave the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self at the beginning of the film, but it is actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. There is no mention of time travel, implied or otherwise, in the film, and the order of events are implied to be in chronological order with [[MindScrew the detectives chasing the "future Fred" after discovering the corpse of Andy, who was alive when the "past Fred" met him at the party]]. Given that Fred is acknowledged as an UnreliableNarrator at the beginning of the film, it is implied that most of the film is a [[AllJustADream fantasy of Fred]], who has twisted his delusions into a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] to allow himself to repeatedly deny his own guilt and his inevitable death by electric chair.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: Fred has a very interesting concept of truth and reality: "I like to remember things my own way. (...) How I remembered them. Not necessarily the way they happened." [[spoiler:Eventually, the film reveals that the first forty-five minutes were mostly a self-delusion.]]

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:One interpretation is that it's the fantasy of a Death Row prisoner who's about to be executed and at the very end, dies in the electric chair. This may be the intended interpretation as Lynch admits the film was partially inspired by his fascination with O.J. Simpson's psychogenic fugue or self-delusion that he was innocent.]]

** Early on, Fred describes a dream in which he found someone, [[ImposterForgotOneDetail who looked like his wife but wasn't actually his wife]], lying in their bed. [[spoiler:This is meant to foreshadow the Mystery Man as Renee's face briefly shifts into the Mystery Man's face in this scene, but it also foreshadows Alice, who resembles Renee but isn't Renee.]]

** The titular lost highway represents a shift in reality. Every time the highway appears, it plays as a SceneTransition notably [[spoiler:at the opening and ending credits and whenever Fred/Pete changes into Pete/Fred. Because of the fact that Fred is an UnreliableNarrator, it is suggested that this reality shift is actually metaphorical rather than literal. Fred is attempting to deny his own culpability in his wife's murder and his death by electric chair by first believing himself to be another person, who is innocent of the crimes he committed; when that doesn't work, he mentally loops the entirety of his delusions into an endless Möbius strip.]]

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: [[spoiler:Based on the O.J. Simpson murder case. Like Simpson, Fred murders his wife and his wife’s new lover. Later, he gets into a car chase with the police pursuing him on the highway.]]

* LotusEaterMachine: Arguably the second half of the movie, [[spoiler: as wife killer Fred re-imagines himself as the more innocent, down to earth Pete while at the same time [[{{Demonization}} demonizing]] both Dick Laurent as a dangerous gangster and his wife as a lying tramp.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:It seems to be played straight with the ending reveal that Fred was the one who gave the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self at the beginning of the film, but it is actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. There is no mention of time travel, implied or otherwise, in the film, and the order of events are implied to be in chronological order with [[MindScrew the detectives chasing the "future Fred" after discovering the corpse of Andy, who was alive when the "past Fred" met him at the party]]. Given that Fred is acknowledged as an UnreliableNarrator at the beginning of the film, it is implied that most of the film is a [[AllJustADream fantasy of Fred]], who has twisted his delusions into a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] to allow himself to continuously deny his own guilt and his inevitable death by electric chair.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:It seems to be played straight with the ending reveal that Fred was the one who gave the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self at the beginning of the film, but it is actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. There is no mention of time travel, implied or otherwise, in the film, and the order of events are implied to be in chronological order with [[MindScrew the detectives chasing the "future Fred" after discovering the corpse of Andy, who was alive when the "past Fred" met him at the party]]. Given that Fred is acknowledged an UnreliableNarrator in the beginning of the film, it is hinted that the most of the film is [[AllJustADream Fred's fantasy]] twisted into the form of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] to allow Fred to continuously deny his own guilt and his inevitable death by electric chair.]]

* BookEnds: [[spoiler:Exaggerated as the film has a narrative structure similar to a Möbius Strip. One can loop the movie and make sense of the narrative without any problems.]]

* CrazyJealousGuy: Mr Eddy and possibly Fred Madison.

* LotusEaterMachine: Arguably the second half of the movie, [[spoiler: as wife killer Fred re-imagines himself as the more innocent, down to earth Pete while at the same time [[Demonization demonizing]] both Dick Laurent as a dangerous gangster and his wife as a lying tramp.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:It seems to be played straight with the ending reveal that Fred was the one who gave the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self at the beginning of the film, but it is actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. There is no mention of time travel, implied or otherwise, in the film, and the order of events are implied to be in chronological order with [[MindScrew the detectives chasing the "future Fred" after discovering the corpse of Andy, who was alive when the "past Fred" met him at the party]]. In practice, the order of events is closer to a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] as the film [[BookEnds begins and ends]] with Fred on the titular lost highway with the ending potentially looping back to the beginning of the film.]]

** The titular lost highway represents a shift in reality. Every time the highway appears, it plays as a SceneTransition notably [[spoiler:at the opening and ending credits and whenever Fred/Pete changes into Pete/Fred. It is suggested that this reality shift is a metaphorical in nature; Pete is attempting to deny his own culpability and guilt by believing himself to be another person or by looping his the entirety of his delusions to delay his death by electric chair.]]

* {{Motif}}:
** Camcorders are significant in regards to Fred, who doesn't like them because he want to remember personal events in his own way. For Fred, camcorders represent objectivity. Later, Fred receives a camcorder tape of [[spoiler:his murder of Renee, a murder that he doesn't remember committing.]]
** The titular highway is another one. It's used as a SceneTransition and a [[spoiler:literal transition betweeen characters.]]

* LotusEaterMachine: Arguably the second half of the movie, [[spoiler: as wife killer Fred re-imagines himself as the more innocent, down to earth Pete while at the same type villainizing both Dick Laurent as a dangerous gangster and his wife as a lying tramp.]]

** [[spoiler:The ending reveals that Fred told ''himself'' via intercom that Dick Laurent is dead.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:It seems to be played straight with the ending reveal that Fred was the one who gave the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self at the beginning of the film, but it is actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. There is no mention of time travel, implied or otherwise, in the film, and the order of events are implied to be in chronological order with [[MindScrew the detectives chasing the "future Fred" after discovering the corpse of Andy, who was alive when the "past Fred" meets him at the party]]. In practice, the order of events is closer to a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] as the film [[BookEnds begins and ends]] with Fred on the titular Lost Highway with the ending potentially looping back to the beginning of the film.]]

** The point at which it goes off any possible rails is hard to tell, but a good guess is when the Mystery Man tells Fred he's "In your house... Call me"; Fred calls his house, [[spoiler:and the same man answers him]].
*** {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: As Fred tells ''himself'' via intercom that Dick Laurent is dead.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:It seems to be played straight with the ending reveal that Fred was the one who gave the message "Dick Laurent is dead" to his past self at the beginning of the film, but it is actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] since there is no direct or implied mention of time travel in the film. In practice, the order of events is closer to a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] as the film begins and ends with Fred on the titular Lost Highway.]]

* SequelEscalation: The videotapes.

* SplitPersonality: One possible interpretation with the characters transforming into new characters.
* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:Subverted, it's not so much a stable time loop as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]] as the film begins and ends with Fred on the highway.]]
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: The mystery man appears as the dragon to Dick Laurent / Mr. Eddy but ends up 'helping' Fred / Pete kill him.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: Fred has a very interesting concept of truth and reality: "I like to remember things my own way. (...) How I remembered them. Not necessarily the way they happened." [[spoiler:Eventually, the film reveals that the first forty-five minutes were a self-delusion.]]
* TheUnreveal: We never find out [[spoiler: what really happened to Pete during the night, when he was "transferred" to the prison, but there is one scene, where Pete's father is almost decided to tell us.]]

* VillainProtagonist: [[spoiler: Fred, under many interpretations of the film, murdered his wife and is telling us a very unreliable account of the incident.]] [[MindScrew Not that we have any way of knowing for sure]].

* BookEnds: [[spoiler:The film begins and ends with a camera shot of the titular highway while {{Music/David Bowie}}'s "I'm Derranged" plays]]

* ProductionForeshadowing: There are several for some of Lynch's future works.
** At one point, Dick Laurent deliberately crashes his car into a tailgater on Mulholland Drive. Four years later, Lynch would create a film called ''Film/MulhollandDrive'', which even features a similar car crash on the aforementioned street.
** Camcorders are very significant in ''Lost Highway'' as not only are they used to record certain scenes, they act as symbolism in regards to the protagonist. Nine years later, Lynch would use camcorders once more to shoot ''Film/InlandEmpire'' for better surreal effect.

* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler: Fred has a very interesting concept of truth and reality: "I like to remember things my own way. (...) How I remembered them. Not necessarily the way they happened." Eventually, the film reveals that the first forty-five minutes were a self-delusion.]]

* BookEnds: [[spoiler:The film begins and ends with a camera shot of the titular highway while {{Music/DavidBowie}}'s "I'm Derranged" plays]]

** Camcorders are very important in ''Lost Highway'' and would become important once more nine years later in Lynch's ''Film/InlandEmpire''.

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:Subverted , it's not so much a loop as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip Möbius Strip]].]]

* AuthorFilibuster: Fred's (Creator/BillPullman) distaste toward camcorders is Lynch's own. [[HilariousInHindsight Ironically]], Lynch would famously use camcorders to shoot ''Film/InlandEmpire'' less than a decade later.

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: Three. Pete to Fred, Alice to Renee and Mr. Eddy to Dick Laurent.]]

Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) is a young mechanic who wakes up in a death row prison cell despite having committed no crime. Pete is released into his parents' care, while being trailed by two detectives who want to know how he came to end up in Fred Madison's cell. On returning to work at his garage, Pete crosses paths with the volatile gangster Mr. Eddy (Robert Loggia) and his beautiful mistress Alice Wakefied (Patricia Arquette). Pete embarks on an affair with Alice, who fears being discovered by Mr. Eddy, who isn't actually Mr. Eddy at all but a porn producer called Dick Laurent who...