Movie Notes: Wild At Heart

September 6th, 2009

= 3 stars

Starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe
Directed by David Lynch

Synopsis

Lula (Laura Dern) and Sailor (Nicolas Cage) are in love, much to the consternation of Lula’s nutcase mother (Diane Ladd). The doomed lovers head west across the American south.

The Good

• The core romance of Sailor and Lula, while outwardly rather distasteful to watch, is largely sold by Laura Dern’s performance. There’s no question they’re really into each other.
• Some hints of Twin Peaks, which was in production when this film was made. Sherylin Fenn, Grace Zabriskie, David Patrick Kelly, Jack Nance, and Sheryl Lee make appearances, fire, goofy small town antics, and a crazy mother.
• Some very disturbing and creative ideas — the Wizard of Oz references, pregnancy fears (harkening back to Eraserhead), and Crispin Glover as cousin Dell, a paranoid relative scared of men with black gloves and puts roaches in his underwear. Actually, that bit could have been a film in itself.
• Willem Dafoe pops up near the end of the film as a nutcase who nearly destroys Sailor and Lula. He’s almost as unhinged as Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. Also excellent is Diane Ladd as the unhinged mommie dearest. Her one freakout with lipstick is worth seeing.

The Bad

• Really unsure about Cage’s portrayal of Sailor, which often sidetracks into Elvis impersonation.
• A lot of random crap: three overweight, naked women appear out of night. Isabella Rossellini has a similar looking counterpart. Lula clicks her heels. After the film’s most brutal scene, a dog runs away with a body part. Many times I’d be just getting into a scene and an unwelcome surprise would personally, ruin things.
• As opposed to Twin Peaks, much more sadistic violence, sex, and not much quirky heart and charm.

Conclusion

Wild At Heart is real mixed bag. I liked some of the surreal visions but there’s an equal amount of total nonsense. The best road to enjoyment is to consider it a darker-than-night comedy. On that level, it succeeds.

Next David Lynch Movie: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Previous David Lynch Movie: Blue Velvet

IMDB: Wild At Heart
Wikipedia: Wild At Heart
Rotten Tomatoes: Wild At Heart 65%