With a simple road movie format rather than a complicated plot that he normally writes, David Lynch makes this over-the-top love story, almost exclusively relying on his excellent directing. Laura Dern, a second-timer for Lynch's films, is genuinely fitted into Lula, an impulsive and traumatized young woman, while Nicolas Cage convincingly performs Sailor, a young working-class man trapped in a twisted destiny. The two leads are undoubtedly the key factors for the film's achievement, but Lynch must be the one who elicits their superb performances. Side-characters, who commit perversive murders and sexual activities, are filled with Lynch's signature bizarreness in both appearances and personalities. Various kinds of music, from classical to Presley to heavy metal, collectively produce a timeless sense, another trademark of the director. A sort of happy ending is little compelling; this is one of the film's very few drawbacks but a big one, leaving the audience with a weakened final impression.
Review of Wild at Heart
