Wild at Heat
(MGM Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(1990)
review by Brad Caffeine

In 1990 David Lynch was flying high. After a rough debut with his avant garde Eraserhead, Lynch directed the very serious Elephant Man, brought Frank Hebert’s masterpiece Dune to the big screen, received an Oscar nomination for the noir Blue Velvet and earned himself a genuine cult following with the television series Twin Peaks. Lynch’s next move, like all subsequent moves in his long career, threw everybody for a loop. He converted Barry Gifford’s novel Wild at Heart into an ultra-violent love story with hints of The Wizard of Oz and an infatuation with Elvis.

Lynch’s work before Wild at Heart could always be considered somewhat disturbing, but where as in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks there was a theme of discomfort lying dormant somewhere just under the surface of the film, Wild at Heart put it all right up there on the screen for viewers to cringe at. Lynch’s vision of Gifford’s novel made sure that viewers never had to read too far between the lines to realize that “this whole world is wild at heart, and weird on top.”

The story follows lovers Sailor (Cage) and Lula (Dern) as they run cross country to escape the tyranny of Lula’s mother (Ladd), who has put out a hit on Sailor. Along the yellow brick, or rather yellow-lined road, Sailor and Lula have copious amounts of passionate sex, and gleefully put themselves into violent situations. The couples’ journey involves graphic scenes of Sailor beating and murdering men, Lula nearly being raped and even going through an abortion. All of these images, the blood and the sex, takes place right there, front row center. Lynch’s camera never has the discretion to cover its eyes, further exploring the voyeurism theme found in Blue Velvet.

But in the end, it is true love that wins. The “good witch” visits Sailor, and he croons “Love Me Tender” to his sweet Lula. If all of this sounds a bit bizarre, well of course it is. But the message of
Gifford’s novel remains in tact: at the heart of it all, the film is nothing more than a beautiful love story. Though elements of the film prove themselves extreme in nature, it is through this exposition that Lynch points out the whirlwind of violence and emotion that comes with pure, raw love. Throughout all the grime in the story, the lovers remain honest and faithful.

David Lynch fans had to wait for what felt like an eternity for Wild at Heart to finally see its DVD release in America, but the disc proves itself worth the wait. The transfer, like all other Lynch approved transfers is flawless. Though fans who may have already seen the laserdisc release may not notice a huge difference in presentation, there are numerous DVD extras that add to the package. Both the making-of documentary, and the collection of cast interviews shed new light on the film and make for an enjoyable watch. Likewise, the soundtrack is restored to so that each lighting of a match sounds like an explosion ofthunder. The only drawback of this release at all is MGM’s decision to release the film in its theatrical format. Other countries have released an unrated cut of the film, but only true completists will seek out an import version, as its only addition is a few more frames of a cop’s head being blown off. All in all, Wild at Heart is a fine release and is far often too overlooked in Lynch’s body of work.