Dianne Ladd’s Marietta is an unhinged mother who almost embodies the caricature of a pantomime villain. Wild at Heart’s dark fairy tale is fuelled by its strong cast of characters. Although this may appear a little on the nose, it shows an innocent Lula desperately hanging onto fictitious tales to help her cope with her reality. The parallel between The Wizard of Oz and Wild at Heart likens Lula to Dorothy, the 20-year-old runaway, who even knocks together the heels of her red shoes in one scene. Instead, there is only Marietta’s associates who only want one thing – Sailor’s head. However, there is no Tinman searching for a heart, no Scarecrow in need of a brain, and no Lion who wishes for courage on this road. Many references are made to The Wizard of Oz throughout the film, with Lula and Sailor following their very own yellow brick road in the hope of a better future. From here, Lynch doesn’t take his foot off the gas and the viewer is flung into a film that can be likened to a fever dream. Within seconds, Sailor has brained the man, Lynch not sparing us any of the gory detail, and the wannabe rock and roller gets swiftly put in jail for manslaughter. As is indicative of Lynch’s style, he clearly thinks nothing of a subtle build here, as Sailor is almost immediately accosted by one of Marietta’s lovers, who declares he’s been paid by Lula’s mother to kill him. Wild at Heart begins as Sailor and Lula enter what appears to be a formal event. Although it won the Palme D’Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, it is a very divisive film, much like the rest of Lynch’s filmography, but those who love it may describe it as a hidden gem. This road movie come love story follows a young couple, Sailor ( Nicolas Cage) and Lula ( Laura Dern), as they run away from the variety of oddities Lula’s mother Marietta ( Dianne Ladd) has hired to kill Sailor.

David Lynch’s electrically charged, absurdist road movie is Wild at Heart and weird on top.ĭavid Lynch’s Wild at Heart may be one of his lesser-known features, but it stands as a great introduction to his style with its highly intense narrative and splash of absurdism.

Wild at heart movie summary