From here, Lynch doesn’t take his foot off the gas and the viewer is flung into a film that can be likened to a fever dream. Within seconds, Sailor has brained the man, Lynch not sparing us any of the gory detail, and the wannabe rock and roller gets swiftly put in jail for manslaughter.
As is indicative of Lynch’s style, he clearly thinks nothing of a subtle build here, as Sailor is almost immediately accosted by one of Marietta’s lovers, who declares he’s been paid by Lula’s mother to kill him. Wild at Heart begins as Sailor and Lula enter what appears to be a formal event. Although it won the Palme D’Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, it is a very divisive film, much like the rest of Lynch’s filmography, but those who love it may describe it as a hidden gem.
#WATCH WILD AT HEART MOVIE#
This road movie come love story follows a young couple, Sailor ( Nicolas Cage) and Lula ( Laura Dern), as they run away from the variety of oddities Lula’s mother Marietta ( Dianne Ladd) has hired to kill Sailor.
Parts of the film definitely haven’t aged well (especially Sailor’s use of homophobic remarks towards the end of the film), and it is definitely unpolished, but I still know I’m going to have a great time laughing and being shocked by Wild at Heart: Lynch’s answer to counterculture, pop culture, and his own culture.David Lynch’s electrically charged, absurdist road movie is Wild at Heart and weird on top.ĭavid Lynch’s Wild at Heart may be one of his lesser-known features, but it stands as a great introduction to his style with its highly intense narrative and splash of absurdism. Maybe this is as casual as Cannes is willing to go: an auteur having fun in their own strange way. There’s no way you can watch Wild at Heart and think that Lynch is aiming to be serious. Wild at Heart is meant to be fun, and I genuinely have fun watching this (even in the sickest sense: I still get a kick out of Willem Dafoe’s iconic scene ). Going back to its stupidity, Wild at Heart is a tongue-in-cheek Hollywood picture (well, in the loosest sense), and I also admire the film as its own self contained jab at the studio system (Lynch is basically turning the mirror on mainstream cinema so it can see what it looks like).
#WATCH WILD AT HEART FREE#
Ignoring the buffoonery, there are also some moments of actual brilliance I particularly adore Sherilyn Fenn’s harrowing cameo, used as a rare serious point in the film that is a full-on Lynchian nightmare (it lives rent free in my head, and I can’t help but feel shaken up every time I reflect on it). I know it is far from perfect, but it makes me laugh so much. The wonky asides and anecdotes also help Wild at Heart be the psychotic film that it is.Īnd yet I love this film. It’s just silly throughout its entire duration, from the obnoxious rock music that blares whenever shit goes down to the heightened, exaggerated acting from all involved. You can claim that this is Lynch targeting the American Dream and its faults again, but I don’t think Wild at Heart is meant to be deep. Of course Sailor gets into trouble for murdering his would-be assassin (cue up “Jailhouse Rock” right about now), and Wild at Heart focuses on Lula’s attempts to live happily with Sailor, her mother’s vicious attempts to control her daughter’s life, and Sailor’s desperation to make ends meet. Sailor and Lula (played by Laura Dern, who is always welcome to be cast in everything and anything, but is a particularly great Lynchian veteran) are in love, but Lula’s mother (Diane Ladd, who was actually nominated for an Academy Award for this film) vows to preclude their lifetime together by hiring an assailant. And yet this is the only time he ever won the Palme d’Or. You can tell that he made this for fun amidst all of his Twin Peaks work. Whether you’re somehow hallucinating Glinda the Good Witch played by Sheryl Lee (Lynch always has her as the face of innocence and promise, and I like that) or you’re viewing Sailor (yes, that is the protagonist’s name) get into some real Blue Hawaii type scuffles (this time with blood), Lynch’s warped vision is fully realized. It’s known that The Wizard of Oz and Elvis Presley’s Hollywood films were the biggest influences for this disturbed road film, and that much is obvious when you watch it (Nicolas Cage does his best Elvis impersonation as directed by Lynch, and it’s one of the most amazingly over-the-top performances of all time). It’s as if Lynch was trying to channel the most all-American film he could muster.
I think Wild at Heart is a riot, and some of the most insane fun I’ve ever had watching a film, but it is unquestionably Lynch’s messiest motion picture to date (his worst is still Dune, as that is his only film I would consider bad to any degree). Having said that, I can acknowledge when something maybe isn’t his finest work. I’d easily and proudly rank him in my top five favourite filmmakers of all time.
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