Wild At Heart (4 Stars)

Last week "Lost Highway" was shown in the cinema, but I couldn't go because it was sold out. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand I was sad, because I've never seen "Lost Highway" on the big screen. On the other hand, I was glad that so many people wanted to see such a wonderful film.

Tonight "Wild at Heart" was shown, also a film I've never previously seen in the cinema. It was a tribute evening to David Lynch. Two short films were shown before it started. The first was a tribute to David Lynch, a montage of short clips from his films and television series. The second was a collection of clips of things he said over the years, mostly taken from interviews. 

Nicolas Cage plays Sailor, a naive young man. He's dating Lula, played by Laura Dern. Lula's mother doesn't approve of him and hires a man to kill him. There's a fight, in which Sailor viciously kills the man with his bare hands. As a result he's sent to prison for two years, but Lula faithfully waits for him. Her mother is furious. She thought Lula would change her mind after having time to cool down.

Lula picks Sailor up from prison, but instead of going home they decide to drive all the way from North Carolina to California. That would be 2600 miles if they drove directly, but Sailor makes a detour through Texas to visit an old friend in Big Tuna, population 603. Meanwhile, Lula's mother has hired an assassin to find and kill Sailor. Since she doesn't trust him, she hires a second assassin, her former lover. (Or maybe he's still her lover, it's not clear).

Sailor drives through the barren landscape, not fully aware of what's happening around him. He's in love, which is all that matters. Nicolas Cage's acting is the opposite of his later performances. In this 1990 film he isn't at all over-the-top, he's supremely laid back.

It's an incredible film. The only thing that disturbs me is the amount of smoking. It's not just an occasional cigarette, Sailor and Lula are smoking in almost every scene. On occasions Sailor even has two cigarettes in his mouth. Maybe David Lynch meant this to be significant, but it's not attractive. In fact, it's repulsive.

Success Rate:  - 0.5

	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de