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What struck me the most about the film was its post-modern take on pop culture. The film was pretty clever in its use of very famous cultural icons such as Elvis and The Wizard of Oz, and how it re-contextualized these icons into a new understanding of character, imitation, and self-awareness.

For instance, Nicholas Cage’s character (Sailor) is a walking Elvis impersonation, but refit into a surreal, tough guy mold. Lynch uses the icon of Elvis to create a dissonance between our knowledge of the pop icon and the violent world that is created in the film. Lynch toys with our expectations of who Elvis was and what he means now, and how his image and his music are a recognizable sign-post in this nutty little film. But our expectations of Elvis are not met in the film. Instead, our image of Elvis collides with Sailor’s depiction of Elvis and we are left somewhat ill-at-ease and awe-struck. I just couldn’t turn away. The best moment for me was when Sailor gets in a fight in a mosh pit at a metal concert, and then makes up for it by getting the band to play Elvis’ “Love Me” as he sings the lyrics. It was a great little break in the narrative and summed up Lynch’s use of the Elvis icon.

Similarly, the use of The Wizard of Oz iconography created a tear in our understanding of that film. Oz and its characters and settings are pretty well burned into everyone’s memories, including those of the characters in the film. Lynch uses the signs used in Oz (the old, dilapidated Kansas house, the curled, black shoes of the Wicked Witch, etc.) to create similar meanings in his film. But there is a gulf between Oz and Wild at Heart, and it is in this gulf where new meaning is created. Once again, our understanding of the original film is directly juxtaposed with the recontextualization offered up by Lynch, and the resulting synthesis is mildly off-putting and bewildering.

It all leads to a very active role for the spectator, as we are given the opportunity to create new meaning from old icons, and to blend our old understandings with new contexts. From now on, whenever I hear “Love Me,” I’ll think of Nicholas Cage and Willem Dafoe getting his head blown off. And isn’t that what David Lynch would want?

wow. that’s the first word that came to mind after i watched this david lynch’s sick and fucked up film.

let’s just talk about the very first scene in the film to start this review. that opening scene alone could change my perception about nicolas cage. i never respect him before, i thought he can’t and won’t act well in his lifetime. but this film opening scene could easily change my perception about him. the way he crush that african american man’s head and the way he point his finger to lula’s mom is kitsch at its finest. that’s how good the opening scene really is.

from the acting, like i have said before, nicolas cage really prove me wrong here. from the old “he can’t act at all” perception to the new “he can act here, at least” perception. diane ladd as lula’s mother is just wonderfully disturbing. the way she portrayed a fucked up protective mother is really spot on. as for willem dafoe, i can only give him a word for his acting here. fucking genius. okay, maybe it’s two words, but so what? he made billy peru one of the best lynchian characters ever made with only about 10-20 minutes on the screen. fucking genius, indeed. let’s not talk about laura dern here, because she completely annoyed me in this film. but if that’s what david lynch aimed for, then i must say that he succeed.

although some of the moments in the film felt too pushed to seemed eccentric, david lynch proved us with this film that he is one of the sickest and most original filmmakers of our time, if not all time. his directing here is really disturbing yet beautiful and cheap yet elegant.

like any john waters film before it, wild at heart is capable at showing us a very thin line between pure genius and complete imbecile. not the best film from david lynch, but it’s probably his most bizarre and disturbing.

ps: i watched this film at night before i sleep. then, in my sleep, i dreamt a very disturbing dream. i made love with an old woman. coincidence or influenced? you be the judge.