Featured Audience Ratings

• Lucas M

  
  A good, but not terrific film. Very interesting surrealist road movie, but exist others David Lynch's film that deserve the Golden Palm.

• Emil K

  
  Wild At Heart might be David Lynch's worst film to date. It is so over the top, which is how Lynch clearly meant it to be, that after fifteen minutes into this film you feel just annoyed about it's noisy soundtrack, even louder characters and plot that does not exist. This… More
  Wild At Heart might be David Lynch's worst film to date. It is so over the top, which is how Lynch clearly meant it to be, that after fifteen minutes into this film you feel just annoyed about it's noisy soundtrack, even louder characters and plot that does not exist. This is just two hours long road movie with pointless side plots, characters that are only odd for the sake of being odd and graphic images that for me just felt unnecessary. Wild At Heart has some curious elements in it and it has echoes of that typically brooding atmosphere which so many other Lynch films also does. Sad fact is that there is no interesting characters here or anybody or anything to care about. And talk about annoying. Diane Ladd is beyond hysterical as a sadistic mother here and every scene she is in just becomes frustrating to watch. Laura Dern and Harry Dean Stanton give us film's better performances, but even their perfromances are nothing more than ok. There are heavy references of Wizard of Oz here and Lynch is leaning towards fantasy and more comical approach. Nothing still takes away the fact that Wild At Heart is all over the place. It is a fragmented and unpleasantly violent experience which ends up being more boring to watch than curiosity. In Lynch's filmography this certainly is one of his weakest or possibly even the most weakest work to date.

• Graham J

  
  Startling images, hilarious dialogue and brilliant performances. This is one of Lynch's best. Cage and Dern shine as two lovers on the run but the real scene stealers come from Willem Dafoe as Bobby Peru and especially Diane Ladd as Lula's insane mother.

• paul o

  
  Its one hell of a ride! Nick Cage plays out a very different type of hero with intense violence and sex to amp up his acting. Its really unorthodox but entertaining.

• Daniel M

  
  You know you've arrived as a filmmaker when a bespoke adjective is created to describe your work - Gilliam-esque, Kubrickian, Lynchian and so on. But with this honour comes the danger of said filmmaker producing films which consist of familiar images or elements, without the… More
  You know you've arrived as a filmmaker when a bespoke adjective is created to describe your work - Gilliam-esque, Kubrickian, Lynchian and so on. But with this honour comes the danger of said filmmaker producing films which consist of familiar images or elements, without the narrative or thematic cohesion which earned them the label in the first place. Wild of Heart is only partially guilty of this, not being one of David Lynch's strongest or most cohesive efforts. Although its thematic unity is never in doubt, and its central narrative is easy enough to follow, it ultimately amounts to a series of strange and memorable moments which punctuate his loose reworking of a road movie. While episodic and baggy, it contains moments of Lynch at his absolute best, and even at its worst is nothing short of unforgettable. Just as Lynch saw Eraserhead as his version of The Philadelphia Story, so Wild at Heart could be described as his take on The Wizard of Oz. Lynch has acknowledged its influence throughout his career, and his most recent works, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire, have incorporated visual or narrative references to it throughout. But whereas these films are Lynch works with little nods to Oz thrown in, this is a full-on marriage of the two, as Lynch takes all the touchstones of L. Frank Baum's story, adds plenty of violence, cranks up the creepiness (if that were possible), and makes the central relationship more emotionally raw and raunchy. The parallels between the two works are candid from the outset. Lula is Dorothy, thrust into a strange world that is "wild at heart and weird on top", and sustained only by Sailor's companionship and the promise of returning to something she can recognise. Sailor in this interpretation is an amalgam of Dorothy's companions: he may not be much of a coward, but he certainly lacks brains, and his capacity for love doesn't extend much beyond devotion. Alternatively, these two represent different aspects of Dorothy, contrasting Sailor's self-confidence with Lula's sensitivity. The Oz references extend far beyond the permutations of the central characters. Diane Ladd makes a convincing Wicked Witch of the West, following Lula's/ Dorothy's every move, cursing the fact that the couple are still together and getting further towards their goal in spite of all her schemes. The long road to California doubles for the yellow brick road, and the car crash featuring Twin Peaks star Sherilyn Fenn could be a nod to the poppy fields, which disorientate and threaten to destroy the heroes. Fenn later turns up as a literal manifestation of the Good Witch Glinda, reflecting that the couple's perseverance and desire to help her were both the right choices to make. Lynch described the central theme of Wild at Heart as "finding love in Hell". He creates a dark and violent world all around the characters - a world populated by car crashes, robberies, betrayal, infidelity, sex, violence and various undignified ways of dying. With all the supporting characters having at least one foot rooted in the grotesque, Sailor and Lula become our natural focus, as people with at least part of their sanity intact who desire more than anything else to escape, by whatever means. This atmosphere of aggression and theme of feeling trapped is reinforced by Lynch's choice of music. Working with Angelo Badalamenti, who has scored all his work since Blue Velvet, Lynch blends the laid-back 1950s sound of Chris Isaac's brilliant 'Wicked Game' to some very aggressive speed metal, the latter of which foreshadows his work with Marilyn Manson on Lost Highway. It's an oddly effective blend, depicting the violence and possible redemption which confront the characters. Music plays a key role in demonstrating the mental conflict of the central characters. In one great scene, Lula tunes through all the radio stations in the car, hearing nothing but bad news. She slams on the brakes, gets out of the car, and starts screaming that she'll go mad unless she hears music. Sailor finds some hard rock, starts screaming too, and they share an impromptu mosh in the middle of the desert. There are big nods to the Elvis back catalogue, with Sailor serenading Lula with 'Love Me' in the club, and finally cementing his love with 'Love Me Tender' during the closing credits. Although these scenes in and of themselves are well-assembled and great fun, they do hint at the big central problem with Wild at Heart. There are so many of these strange little bits floating around the central story that they never quite integrate into a seamless, disorientating whole. Lynch's symbolic imagery and manipulation of colour don't gel quite so naturally with the story and characters as such techniques did in Blue Velvet or Mulholland Drive. The Blue Velvet comparison is the more illuminating, particularly with regard to the amount of time the ideas of the film had to gestate. Lynch had the story and themes for Blue Velvet all worked out in his head before Dune, so that even when he was forced to shoot quickly due to lack of money, he knew how to shoot the robins speech, or the zoom down to the cockroaches, in a way which was seamlessly integral to the story and its themes. Wild at Heart, on the other hand, was rushed into production following the collapse of Dino DeLaurentiis' production company, which delayed progress on both Twin Peaks and Lynch's pet project, Ronnie Rocket. He was given Barry Gifford's novel by friend Monty Montgomery with a view to producing it, and only had two months between buying the rights and beginning to shoot. It is no surprise therefore that the script of Wild at Heart doesn't entirely click; it is, in Lynch's words, "a compilation of ideas." This disjoined feel has the side effect of taking us out of the story during many of the weirder moments. During Jack Nance's cameo, doubling for Toto in yet another Oz reference, you find yourself staring as much in puzzlement as in mesmerism. Some of Badalamenti's musical cues feel oddly overcooked, such as the huge dramatic chord when Sailor pulls up at Perdita's house. The final scene, where Sailor and Lula reaffirm their love, lacks the beauty and irony of Blue Velvet's ending, which manages to be both uplifting and watchful. Despite some self-imposed cuts on Lynch's part, there are many scenes in Wild at Heart which remain problematic. The violence is par for the course for an 18 certificate, even the sight of Willem Dafoe's character losing his head with a double-barrelled shotgun. But the sexual advances of Dafoe's character are deeply disturbing for all the wrong reasons, and the recurring image of Lula's rape doesn't add to the central theme beyond turning our stomachs (as rape should). Ultimately, however, the performances in Wild at Heart are enough to see things through. Nicolas Cage is on startling form, showing that he thrives when given a director who understands melodrama and exaggerated characters. He may be massively over-the-top, but it makes sense, and his Elvis impersonation is great. Laura Dern's unusual beauty fits the Southern belle look of her character, and we believe in her emotional turmoil throughout. And amongst the hysterical supporting case, including Dern's real-life mother Diane Ladd, the stand-out is Harry Dean Stanton, who stands calm in the eye of the storm, looking as bemused as the rest of us. Wild at Heart is not Lynch's finest work by any stretch of the imagination. It has structural deficiencies which were not sorted out in the editing room, and the lurches in tone may prove too much for the casual viewer. But in the moments when it does work - and there are plenty - it is an often joyous reminder of Lynch's power as a filmmaker, telling stories in ways which are frighteningly unique. While no masterpiece, nor an ideal starting point, it is often majestic and always memorable.

• Michael G

  
  After burning myself out on Wild at Heart about 15 years ago and walking away for awhile, I can honestly say that it isn't as good as I remember. There's plenty of classic Lynchness even if the movie didn't age all that well. Thanks a lot, early-90s speed metal. If… More
  After burning myself out on Wild at Heart about 15 years ago and walking away for awhile, I can honestly say that it isn't as good as I remember. There's plenty of classic Lynchness even if the movie didn't age all that well. Thanks a lot, early-90s speed metal. If nothing else Willem Dafoe alone is worth it.

• AJ V

  
  A wild movie from Lynch. Leave it to him to make an outrageously weird lovers on the run drama with violence and blood. It's really awesome.

• Conner R

  
  I appreciate this for being so incredibly offbeat. Even for David Lynch, it feels like the road trip from hell. I think this is the most comedic that he has or ever will go. The characters are so screwball in nature, that you can't help but laugh when they try to make sense.… More
  I appreciate this for being so incredibly offbeat. Even for David Lynch, it feels like the road trip from hell. I think this is the most comedic that he has or ever will go. The characters are so screwball in nature, that you can't help but laugh when they try to make sense. Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern are just so good together that it's almost scary, it really felt as though they were head over heels and crazy in love. This has the unique look and feel of some of David Lynch's work, but like it's content, it's so much jollier and goofy in nature. Now that's probably a false sense fluffiness because there's so many demented messages rooted in the story. It's almost as if the movie is just as crazy as its two leads.

• Coxxie M

  
  This is a movie about fucking. Crispin Glover puts cockroaches in his ass. Nicolas Cage smashes a guy's head against the wall like a pumpkin. Laura Dern doesn't mind showing her tits in an art movie. Willem Dafoe still has all his baby teeth.

• Drew S

  
  David Lynch, ever the darling of canons cult and critical alike, is just not a filmmaker I care for. In my opinion, for an auteur that's carved a reputation out of creating from the fringe, his works play surprisingly closely to conventional cinematic benchmarks, with Inland… More
  David Lynch, ever the darling of canons cult and critical alike, is just not a filmmaker I care for. In my opinion, for an auteur that's carved a reputation out of creating from the fringe, his works play surprisingly closely to conventional cinematic benchmarks, with Inland Empire being his greatest deviation (and thus, in my eyes, his greatest success). Though I haven't seen Eraserhead or The Elephant Man yet, a lot of his work follows a surprisingly simple byline - violence, almost-surreal imagery, and shameless heterosexual titillation. His work is beautiful, but it's also fast and cheap and self-interested, and frankly I just think he's a pervert with a wild imagination. Wild at Heart isn't quite as grievous an offender as Mulholland Drive was, as the latter film was linchpinned on the notion that the audience payout would be simulated lesbian sex. And hey, I can totally understand that, but call me crazy if two and a half hours of an unintelligible Hollywood mystery for thirty seconds of softcore isn't quite a fair trade off. For most people his self-indulgence works, as that unintelligibility can be written off as uniqueness. It's something that a certain, admittedly niche, audience can relate to - I can't, and I readily admit that. Wild at Heart is not quite as beloved in his filmography because it's essentially a road movie, a genre heavily mined by 1990, and with little to justify its own personal mundanities. Lynch hands to us some uninvolving crime babble, a few casual mentions of witchcraft, and a really lame Wizard of Oz metaphor. The quirks are generally what sell his narratives, but they aren't strong enough here, and the film's single most enduring image - Diane Ladd done up in red lipstick, crawling through a desperate phone conversation - is so much more vivid and character-conscious than anything else he manages to conjure. Lynch's work can never truly be brushed off. His technique is far too powerful and innovative for outright dismissal, and Wild at Heart as much of a show of refined craftsmanship as any of his other films. Scenes like Sailor Ripley brutally beating a man within the first five minutes of the film, a confrontation in a dance hall, and the heist of a tiny bank are exhilarating in their arrhythmia. They're astray in what's inarguably Lynch's most tiresome narrative, though, and barely sustain it to the point of watchability. Almost obligated viewing for Lynch's importance in cinema, but I found very little real value in it.

• Mark W

  
  Going for a more linear approach, director David Lynch offers one of his more accessible films while still maintaining his talent for weirdness. Based on the novel by Barry Gifford it tells the dark and twisted story of Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage) and Lula Fortune (Laura Dern) as… More
  Going for a more linear approach, director David Lynch offers one of his more accessible films while still maintaining his talent for weirdness. Based on the novel by Barry Gifford it tells the dark and twisted story of Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage) and Lula Fortune (Laura Dern) as young lovers fleeing south from Lula's vengeful mother Marietta (Diane Ladd). In a fit of rage, Marietta is determined to prevents the two from seeing each other and sets thoroughly weird and dangerous hit-man Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) on their trail, as well as private detective Johnny Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton), while a few other dangerous pursuers join in the chase. Lynch brings us a nightmarish road movie with homages to Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and "The Wizard of Oz". Full of warped black humour and numerous memorable scenes with eccentric oddball characters. The standouts being, a confused Sherilyn Fenn after a road accident, wandering aimlessly while picking at the fatal wound on her head, and Crispin Glover making an excessive amount of sandwiches for his lunch, while putting cockroaches in his underpants. These are just a couple of quality Lynchian moments that only he can capture and that's not to mention J.E. Freeman's deliciously evil henchman Marcelles Santos, crime-lord Mr. Reindeer and one of cinema's most memorable villians in Bobby Peru (a fantastically creepy and unforgettable Willem Dafoe on top form). The whole cast are, in fact, on top of their game. It's one of Cage's finest wacky performances and the Oscar nominated Diane Ladd is scarily and convincingly venomous. As ever though, it wouldn't work without the genius of Lynch himself and his painting of the surreal, off-beat and depraved underbelly of America, that no-one can do quite like him. One of Lynchs more coherent films, it still has his usual dreamlike quality, peppered with strange outlandish characters and events and more linear than what we are used to from the brilliant transcendental director. Excellent stuff.

• Cassandra M

  
  Wild at Heart begins with an arresting scene of bloody violence by one of the two lead characters, Sailor Ripley, and this immediately grabs our attention. After this he hooks up with his lover, Lula, who he fiercely protects, and goes on a bizarre road trip into the deep south of the… More
  Wild at Heart begins with an arresting scene of bloody violence by one of the two lead characters, Sailor Ripley, and this immediately grabs our attention. After this he hooks up with his lover, Lula, who he fiercely protects, and goes on a bizarre road trip into the deep south of the states, while avoiding Lula's mother, played with passion by a deservedly Oscar-nominated Diane Ladd, who has an obsessive hatred for Sailor. They meet an assortment of weird people, especially Bobby Peru, and also Perdita Durango, who has appeared recently in a film with her name as the title, also written by Barry Gifford. It is classic David Lynch, with a homage type theme to the Wizard of Oz. It has the sensuality and eroticism later seen in Lost Highway, the violence and gore, the head sequence after the bank robbery being graphic, and a general uneasiness throughout. But it is a darkly humorous and transfixing piece.

• Arash X

  
  The most annoying lead couple ever, well along with Slater & Arquette in True Romance, One of Lynch's weakest efforts so far & I didn't really dig the references to The Wizard Of Oz, The film is somehow saved by Willem Dafoe & Harry Dean Stanton

• Anthony L

  
  One of my favourite Lynch films. Watch his interview on the DVD extras of The Straight Story about 'Duck vision' then watch this film! It's also got a brilliant soundtrack!

• Randy T

  
  David Lynch comes at you on two levels. His rendition of <i>Wild at Heart</i> plays to both the conscious and the subconscious. You'll watch Diane Ladd confront Nicolas Cage in a men's room, but later you'll flashback to the overhead shot of the toilet.… More
  David Lynch comes at you on two levels. His rendition of <i>Wild at Heart</i> plays to both the conscious and the subconscious. You'll watch Diane Ladd confront Nicolas Cage in a men's room, but later you'll flashback to the overhead shot of the toilet. You'll be engrossed by the conversation between Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe in a motel, but it's the extreme closeup of Dafoe's teeth that will haunt you later. It's the surreal imagery that makes Lynch's work so bizarre and so utterly fantastic.

• Derek D

  
  This is what happens when David Lynch makes a movie that he tries to help you understand without really thinking about it. Everything is thrown out there in plain site for you to pick up in order with some things that are supposed to be twists and turns but which really just kind of… More
  This is what happens when David Lynch makes a movie that he tries to help you understand without really thinking about it. Everything is thrown out there in plain site for you to pick up in order with some things that are supposed to be twists and turns but which really just kind of fill out space. It has a happy ending, which really suck. Doesn't seem like a Lynch film until you see his regulars (Stanton, Fenn, Lee, Nance) in it. Defoe was really good, but Cage tried to be so cool that it ended up practically killing his performance. Also watch for Crispin Glover in this (!)

• Elvira B

  
  Sailor and Lula are two freewheelin lovers in a road trip into the underbelly of the American south, as they escape from Lula's mother's attempts to end their love and have Sailor killed by hiring a gang of morally and physically twisted assassins. The highlights here are… More
  Sailor and Lula are two freewheelin lovers in a road trip into the underbelly of the American south, as they escape from Lula's mother's attempts to end their love and have Sailor killed by hiring a gang of morally and physically twisted assassins. The highlights here are the performances and the imagery created by Lynch (his own version of a real-life American gothic in which people have Wizard of Oz hallucinations). Nicolas Cage as Sailor is (surprisingly) excellent (Cage is a box of surprises, sometimes he's awful and sometimes he's pretty good). His character is a rock and roll road hero in a typical quest for redemption and freedom, and Cage plays him pefectly: a young man who takes himself a little too seriously, with a deep womanizing voice and a snakeskin jacket. Laure Dern plays Sailor's almost unbearably enthusiastic but beautiful girlfriend. Her real-life mother, Diane Ladd, plays Marietta, her psycho mother in an eerie and fascinating performance. The supporting cast is similarly funny and disturbing: Willem Dafoe as Bobby Peru, Isabella Rossellini as Perdita and Crispin Glover as Lula's cousin (his character makes absolutely no sense, but in this film nothing really has to). There's really no point to trying to figure out what "the message" of Wild At Heart is. I think that it's simply Lynch's love letter to the dark side of America: his vision is that of a place so bizarre, so interesting, and yet so dark that it brings out the most obscure secrets of both lovers and even manages to put their relationship at risk... a declaration of love to music, to surrealism, and to love itself. The film is beautifully shot, the colors are often vibrant, the soundtrack is fantastic, and, what's even better, the plot is actually understandable if only on the surface, which is a nice variation within the director's body of work. There are priceless, hilarious, revolting, ridiculous, and romantic scenes. It may be self-indulgent, but what auteur film really isn't? And while it's not my favorite Lynch, it's up there. I enjoyed every second of it.

• Stella D

  
  still my favorite lynch film. this brings back memories. like, remember when nic cage made decent films? elvis in oz, sweet

• Lafe F

  
  An impressive soundtrack and colourful visuals of an American road trip with Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern, running from her crazy mother and her hired hitmen. It's a strange romance. There are lots of Wizard of Oz references (eg. Toto, Good Witch, Ruby Slippers, a Crystal Ball,… More
  An impressive soundtrack and colourful visuals of an American road trip with Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern, running from her crazy mother and her hired hitmen. It's a strange romance. There are lots of Wizard of Oz references (eg. Toto, Good Witch, Ruby Slippers, a Crystal Ball, the view of the plains from a bedroom window, Emerald City.) There are plenty of twisted characters along the way, akin to those found in a John Waters movie. The lovers run into Willem Dafoe, a gross criminal, who violates every scene he's in with his creepy personality and appearance. The ending was corny and fitting; the lovers arrived where they were seeking. The dialogue was funny, not unlike a Tarrantino script. A few things weren't clearly explained; but it was all weird and wonderful as David Lynch movies tend to be.

• Robert C

  
  (Very) loosley based on 'The Wizard Of Oz', this Lynch classic is one wild ride. Excellent performances by both Nick Cage (who I'm not a big fan of) and Laura Dern. Though he doesn't have a lot of screen time...Willem Dafoe's 'Bobby Peru' has… More
  (Very) loosley based on 'The Wizard Of Oz', this Lynch classic is one wild ride. Excellent performances by both Nick Cage (who I'm not a big fan of) and Laura Dern. Though he doesn't have a lot of screen time...Willem Dafoe's 'Bobby Peru' has got to be one of the sleeziest characters in film history. His performance is guaranteed to keep you totaly riveted and slightly nauseous. Not to be upstaged, Diane Ladd as "Lula's Mama" (Marietta Fortune) is an amazing study in parental psychosis.

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