Director Report Card: David Lynch (1990) Part Two

6. Wild at Heart

David Lynch was definitely having A Moment in 1990. While working on the pilot of “Twin Peaks,” he was offered a chance to produce an adaptation of “Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula,” a then-unpublished novel by Barney Gifford. Lynch quickly decided he didn't want to merely produce the film but write and direct it as well. The film would premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received discordant reactions. Yet, with “Twin Peaks” having become a full-blown phenomenon by that point, it was decided that Lynch was the defining filmmaker of the time who had reached full maturity as an artist. “Wild at Heart” would win Canne's top prize, the Palme d'Or, a move which was met badly by some people. “Wild at Heart” remains among Lynch's most divisive features.

Lula and Sailor, two youths that aren't much more than teenagers, are in love. Lula's mother, Marietta, does not approve and sends a man to kill Sailor. When Sailor violently beats the attacker's head in, he goes to jail. After getting out, Sailor and Lula break parole and tear on down the road. Further enraged, Marietta sends her two lovers – a private detective and a mafia hitman – after them, to retrieve her daughter and kill the boy she loves. Lula and Sailor will soon confront the darkness of the world as they try to find a way for themselves and keep their love burning bright.

The very first image in “Wild at Heart” is a flame igniting. Blazing fires reoccur throughout the entire film. This is fitting, as “Wild at Heart” is burning with emotion. In a key moment, Lula becomes so excited by the idea of dancing, that she stomps her feet rhythmically on their bed. The two protagonist frequently dance in a wild, violent fashion. During a heavy metal concert, we see people slam-dancing in the most intense manner. Characters scream, in agony and pleasure. Moans, of sexual ecstasy, terror, and everything in-between, are frequently heard. Sailor vacillates between passionate love for his girlfriend and an intense rage that turns him into a monster when fighting someone. This is the world of “Wild at Heart,” where every emotion – but love most of all – is always at the most fever pitch. Characters fuck, fight, and feel at maximum intensity.

It's only fitting that “Wild at Heart's” characters should act in such an extreme manner. Lynch has referred to the film as a tale of lovers in Hell. And the film's world is hellish. During a key moment, Lula is driven into an anguished frenzy by a series of news stories referencing rape, homicide, and necrophilia. This is, by far, Lynch's most vulgar and violent film. Characters frequently swear and scream. The first scene has a man's head being smashed into bloody pulp. The finale features another man's head being shotgunned off and bouncing into a wall. Bloody bodies are found on the side of the road and violent gangs roam the streets. Random characters are surrounded by half-nude women. There's talk of pornography and sexual assault, torture, and despair. It's a graphic film.

Especially graphic is its depiction of sex. Sailor and Lula's passion for each other is such that they can't keep their hands off each other. The screen often goes warm and orange during these moments, as if their lovemaking is causing heat to radiate off the screen. The character's vocally voice their enjoyment of each other's bodies. Sailor describes his first sexual conquest in graphic detail. “Wild at Heart” is definitely interested in the sweaty, visceral effects of sex, during and after. One of the film's nastiest moments shows an abortion Lula had as a teenage, after her uncle raped her. (Which we also see the disturbing aftermath of.)

Yet, for all its nudity and semi-graphic fuckery, “Wild at Heart” is akin to Lynch's earlier films. Despite their actions, with each other and against other people, Lula and Sailor are still innocents of sorts. They are basically big kids, way over their heads in a world with mean intentions for them. “Wild at Heart” is ultimately a story about their love for one another being tested. They have the violent machinations of Lula's deranged mother, pursuit by a hitman, and violent crime in their path. It's true that the course of true love never ran smooth, especially here. They stumble towards maturity as they attempt to survive this wild world and keep loving each other. In that sense, “Wild at Heart” is a classic story of young lovers on the run together, learning a lot about life along the way.

“Wild at Heart” continues some of Lynch's other themes too. If “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks” showed him subverting images of Americana by exposing its dark underbelly, “Wild at Heart” has him chewing up classic American concepts and vomiting them back up as nightmares. Sailor, much like Nic Cage himself, is obsessed with Elvis Presley. Lula is obsessed with “Wizard of Oz,” a story that is referenced throughout the film. Marietta becomes the most nightmarish version of the Wicked Witch of West. Lynch, rather knowingly, cast Sheryl Lee – Laura Palmer herself – as Glenda the Good Witch. The film is a classic road trip story, an idea aided further by its classic cars and retro fashions. By sticking such well-known American iconography in such a hellish situation, Lynch is twisting the ideas they represent in a new light.

As interesting as “Wild at Heart” is, it's also a deeply flawed film. The road trip pacing races ahead, fast and furious, until the characters arrive at Big Tuna. There, the pacing screeches to a halt. Moreover, there are times when “Wild at Heart” just feels like our protagonists encountering a succession of increasingly bizarre characters. At a roadside dinner, they run into a helium-voiced man for no particular reason. The entire subplot around Harry Dean Stanton's Farragut doesn't amount to much. Hotel managers with snooty accents and cast on their feet show up. There's a long memory devoted to Lula's exceedingly eccentric Cousin Dell, played by Crispin Glover at his most bizarre, and his very strange habits. Once in Big Tuna, we meet Jack Nance as a crazy man ranting about an invisible dog, a pair of eloquently spoken hicks, and a collection of naked obese women. It never pays off too much and often feels like Lynch just throwing in weird, goofy stuff because it amuses him.

In fact, “Wild at Heart” has some pretty serious tonal issues. It's a frequently grotesque film. Sometimes, we are clearly meant to laugh at this grotesqueness. Such as when a dog wanders off with a severed hand in its mouth. This jives badly with the other scenes, where Lynch is clearly creating absurd, grotesque villains to disgust us. Marietta Fortune, as played by Diana Ladd, is nothing short of terrifying. She smears her face with lipstick, screams and weeps. Merietta is a woman at the end of her rope and projecting that ugliness at everyone around her. Similarly vile is Willem DaFoe's Bobby Peru, a sadistic criminal with rotting teeth and snake-like eyes. The moment where he assaults Lula has to be among the most discomforting moments in Lynch's entire career. (No easy feat.) Both actors are incredible playing such revolting villains, though it's still hard to tell what our exact reactions are suppose to be to these excesses.

Still, for all its flaws, “Wild at Heart” has its share of indelible moments, unforgettable scenes that only David Lynch could've conceived. The most effective is when Sailor and Lula come across a car wreck in the middle of the night. They discover a young woman – played by “Twin Peak's” Sherilyn Fenn – who is clearly dying of a grievous head wound. It's a heartbreaking moment, the girl only able to focus on trivial details as she bleeds out. If that scene is deeply sad, “Wild at Heart's” other highlight is frighteningly intense. Johnnie Farragut is captured by Juana Durango, played by a truly unhinged Grace Zabrieskie. Lynch's camera watches intently, with jerky editing, as Farragut is psychologically tortured before being killed. It is a very uncomfortable, unnerving moment. (Supposedly, the scene was originally longer but proved so disturbing, even Lynch decided he had to cut it down.)

At the center of “Wild at Heart's” madness and chaos are two utterly committed performance. Nicolas Cage goes “full Cage,” as fans are fond of calling it. He shouts and points, karate kicks and does handstands, and roars like a wild animal. Yet, as wild and over-the-top as Cage is, he also plays Sailor as a lovable doofus, desperately trying to do the right thing but uncertain of the route. Laura Dern, meanwhile, plays Lula as an especially lusty innocent. She loves her boyfriend, loves to have sex with her boyfriend, loves music. The world has abused and mistreated her and it's caused her hope to fade at times... Yet she keeps holding on somehow. Dern, of course, is perfectly capable of bringing this character to life.

Whatever you think of “Wild at Heart” as a whole, you have to agree that Lynch's instincts as a visual and aural stylist rarely fail him. The frequent shots of burning fires becoming a powerful symbol, the more the movie returns to it. The visual references to "Wizard of Oz" – Mariella appearing as a ghostly witch on a broomstick, images cast in a crystal ball – are certainly memorable. The visual construction of “Wild at Heart” is fantastic, shadows and lights, long shots and close-ups, having their full effect. The encounter between Lula and Bobby Peru is filmed like a stage play, two characters talking in a flat, wide room. The film's soundtrack slides between soft rock and blaring speed metal, rumbling ambient noise and quiet serenity. This is why Lynch is among America's greatest stylist.

“Wild at Heart” received some raves but many baffled, annoyed pans as well. This made it an extremely controversial choice to win the Palme, the announcement being greeted with boos. I don't think the film deserved to win either. It's probably among my least favorite Lynch films. That still means it has some moments of absolute inspired insanity, some strong performance, and a deranged, often disturbing atmosphere that's really not like much else. With “Twin Peaks” being such a big deal at the time, with David Lynch's name actually having commercial appeal at the time, “Wild at Heart” even managed to make a little money at the box office. I can only imagine what mainstream audiences coming off of “Peaks” thought of this... [Grade: B]