This movie reminds me of when someone tells you about a car wreck they witnessed or a horrible medical operation they had with all the disgusting details, and then they leave you all upset with those visuals running through your head, wondering why they felt the need to share that with you. Although those images do have some sense of reality, whereas the things one sees in this movie are harder to fathom. Apparently David Lynch wants people to figure out any meaning behind his movie images themselves, so I venture to guess that it is just random stuff that moves around his head that pleases him. Kind of like entering his dreamscape. And it's weird.
It is very surreal in it's look, lurid colours, bright pink and red lipstick dominating the women's faces, like kids playing dress-up. Sailor and Lula drive through all this depressing, 50's style, poverty ridden, rural landscape and meet some of the strangest and most loathsome characters. There is one guy who speaks like a Munchkin in a bar, that was definitely a wtf? moment. And William Dafoe, well words fail me, please don't let that guy turn up in my dreams! So while watching it I was constantly laughing, shrieking, gasping, covering my eyes, crying. There are some really great performances by a lot of recognizable character actors. And Diane Ladd is mesmerizing in her horribleness. And a stand-out performance by Harry dean Stanton too.
Luckily, Sailor and Lula are truly charismatic characters, young and beautiful lovers on the run.
Nic is pretty sweet as Sailor in this movie, he is totally devoted to Lula, always thoughtful with her, reminds me of H.I. in 'Raising Arizona' in that way. And like H.I., Sailor has a rather careless attitude about following the law. But his actions seem to be propelled by his feelings of honour and commitment, and he has a conscience, which crops up to put a spanner in the works. He dances and jumps around in a maNIC joyful way that is young and spontaneous. And he sings so sweetly!
There is so much alluded-to stuff, we must draw our own conclusions about Lula's horrible past from her memories, and how did she remain so sweet at heart with all that crap in her life? Because she's lovely and kind, sexy-sweet, sensual in an almost innocent way, yet not innocent at all. Laura Dern is wonderful, over the top, and so heart breaking at times; when she cries, 'I want you to sing Love Me Tender to me', I wanted to cry too. And Nic hides his face, and so he should, he knows he is about to do something stupid.
The Wizard of Oz theme running through it is fun, I didn't realize just how prevalent it was in the movie; and there's a heartbreaking scene when Lula had to tap her shoes together.
On a personal basis, I kept having flashback moments; when I was a young teenager I fell in with an older guy, he worshipped Elvis, combed his hair in a ducktail and wore pointy-toe boots, he was so very uncool for the times. But he mesmerized me and I was pulled into his life, so that scene outside the motel with the bunch of sleezy drunks kind of felt like something I experienced myself; except for the naked fat ladies, that was new.
Really, it is an amazing movie, Nic and Laura are so young and intense, they kind of shine like punk angels in the middle of all the ugly stuff. Even the lighting in their love-making scenes emphasizes that. And those scenes are the best part. The bedroom talk, the quiet moments between them, that is when they reveal the fear and pain inside. Their performances are outstanding, wonderful to watch.
-- Edited by Lady Trueheart on Wednesday 29th of December 2010 12:33:34 AM
WOW!!!! So great to read your experience of Wild At Heart Lady True, thank you for sharing it all with us, fresh from viewing! I adored what you said about Sailor and Lula being "punk angels"........... those two little words encapsulate so much. Sailor and Lula are both wild at heart but they also have beautiful, big hearts, especially for each other. They shine, just like angels, in a disturbing landscape of corruption and, let's face it, pure evil ...and although Nic is playing a character with criminal tendencies and a shady past, as usual he brings that multidimensional element to Sailor..there is depth and layers to him. you put that perfectly when you said his actions are propelled by feelings of honour and committment. He is still the hero of the movie!
I won't go on in here about my experience because I have done it so many times before, but for me there has to be a certain suspension of "why" when it comes to questioning the mindset of the creator and just a diving into the filmscape he creates....not least because it would [ersonally leave me forever on the side of the road scratching head and kicking the kerb, but also we will never know... and parhaps even Lynch himself will never know....the creative process can be more like channeling and it bypasses the thinking process..flowing from a far more exixtential source.. .so long as you can jump back out of it again soon enough...for as someone said (was it you?) this movie leaves an indelible mark on your soul! (which is why hugs and light hearted chatter were on offer last night!) painful, shocking, disturbing art is not bad art for me..and Wild At Heart is so much more than those things...it is also a deeply beautiful story about unconditional love...and yet it is so much more than that too...it is rich, textured and deep. Imagine how much darker it would have been if Lynch had stuck with the original ending from the book...then it would be far more parallel to my own life. Amazing that we both see autobiographical elements.
I know I said this yesterday about Willem Defoe..is that the Herzogian bliss of evil... but without the bliss? The scene with Lula takes it over the edge for me, in the same way the scene with Terence abusing the two old ladies did in Bad Lieutenant. then I don't know quite what to do with my feelings of discomfort. It is definitely not blissful.
Iam so glad you have seen it meg, and hopefilly I won't have to change my username without giving you flashbacks to your ex!
If my ex had been like Nic channeling Elvis we would probably still be together!! That is the only resemblance though.
The scene with Dafoe and Laura was so horrible, I was wanting to put my arms around her, poor little girl, she was like a little girl then to me. I wanted Sailor to come back, save the day, but then it wouldn't have been a Lynch movie, would it?
I was looking for a scene I saw once in a you tube clip, with Sailor dancing with a very strange woman, while Lula was in the bathroom. But it wasn't in the movie and now I can't find it on you tube. Did I dream it?
I definitely wasn't sharing the same dream, Lady trueheart! are you sure it was dancing? the only dancing Sailor does in the movie, if I recall correctly, is with Lula!
Hey, Lula, I can't find the clip of Nic dancing with someone else, but I found reference to it somewhere. Apparently there were quite a few deleted scenes, including a lot of Lula being very whiney and annoying! The director didn't use them because they gave a different slant to Lula and Sailor's characters, making it more like the book, apparently. They seem to be in some special David Lynch retrospective release. Anyway, I imagine you would rather not see them, since it would change the way Lula and Nic are imagined in the end release.
There is one deleted scene on youtube that is interesting to see, here it is:
LOL! Oh yeah..Lula can definitely be whiney and annoying! Have you read the book Lady True? Thanks for posting the deleted scene, this is the only one that I have already seen...have not come across any others!! I am sure with your investigative skills that if they are out there, you will find them !!
I just love the amount of sincerity Lynch keeps flowing beneath all the kitsch and irony. That man has a real, genuine love for The Wizard of Oz! :D
The further Lynch gets into the career the harder I find it to fathom the whys and wherefores of his work, but the less it seems to matter. Eraserhead, despite it's esoteric reputation, was IMO a simple story strangely told about new baby anxieties. INLAND EMPIRE however was as inscrutable as a deep sea fish, but I loved the ride. He's created some fascinating worlds to enter into.
It's a real oddity! Stunning in places, a little dull in others, but never to be forgotten! It is frightening, though as often with Lynch mostly through suggestion, shadow and an accumulation of odd characters with odd ways of interacting with the world.
