Review: WILD AT HEART

DAVID LYNCH IS WILD AT ART

(reviewed on HBO)

    There are very few directors that have a list of films that couldn’t possibly have been made by someone else. Look at half of Steven Spielberg’s films and you know that any director walking the streets could have made pretty much the same damn movie. Most directors don’t actually make films with their stamp of approval. Robert Rodriguez has a style and editing flair, but try telling a cave dweller that "El Mariachi" and "The Faculty" were made by the same guy and he’d look at you two-faced.
    But there are two directors that come to mind that have a list of films that almost have their names printed on every frame subliminally. After watching a film like “A Clockwork Orange” you can review it simply by stating, “It was Kubrickian.” You can’t  really explain the meaning of ‘Kubrickian’, but just the word makes so much sense. The same can be said for a David Lynch film. Did I like “Wild at Heart”? “It was Lynchian.”
    Nicolas Cage is Sailor and Laura Dern is Lula. They’re in love. Without giving away the pretty decent and mysterious plot, these lovebirds hit the road west and Lula’s mother ends up sending a few people to kill Sailor. The film itself follows their travel from New Orleans to Texas on the open road, and of course the other cast of characters which include some pure David Lynch weirdos, the majority of them played by Twin Peaks supporting players (the film itself was made while Twin Peaks was still airing).
     Did I like “Wild at Heart”? It’s your basic David Lynch film. It’s not great, but it’s interesting and wild enough to at least keep your attention and wait—with baited breath—to see what’s coming up next. Even though Lynch is famous for his what-the-fuck? plotlines, the film actually makes a load of sense this time around. Sure there’s a lot of unexplainables in this, but go watch “Lost Highway” without knowing what it’s supposed to be about.
    I love to watch David Lynch’s films because after watching the same old shit it’s great to enter his Lynchian world where nothing is as it seems and anything can happen at any time. “Wild at Heart” is definitely out there, mostly because it’s an extremely grotesque and sexual R-rated film while the underlying theme is the kids favorite “The Wizard of Oz”.  **