165. Wild at Heart

Song - Me And Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin)

Movie: Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990)

Some two years ago I started watching Twin Peaks. I stopped doing so after the "It's Happening Again" episode in season 2, which I felt was a perfect encapsulation of everything the show was about. I didn't see how Lynch could possibly improve or move on from that - the extended scene in the bar in particular is one of the greatest things ever filmed. Wild at Heart never stood a chance against Twin Peaks' episode 14 (and can't measure up to the rest of Twin Peaks either), but it is quite entertaining, sometimes funny, sometimes tense and unsettling, and in the end even endearingly romantic. Unexpectedly you do root for Cage as he steps over all those cars to get back to his Lula (Laura Dern).

I will at some point restart Twin Peaks, as I am especially curious about Season 3. Besides, it is just aesthetically pleasing to watch, and what I liked most about Wild at Heart is how much it shares with Twin Peaks. For example, how everytime someone in the film lights a match, it is accompanied by ominous sounds and images of burning and fire. Or Angelo Badalamenti's score, which is somehow both haunting and comforting. Haunting, because it is often used to accentuate something mysterious and potentially evil, but also comforting because there is a softness to it. It's pleasant to listen to it. The same can be said for Lynch's imagery, that's full of warmth and bright colors. And he clearly loves the characters he creates and the actors he works with, giving them freedom to go into all kinds of unexpected directions. It's also fun to see here some of the core cast of Twin Peaks show up in small roles. I also liked that the most Twin Peaks-like performance comes from J.E. Freeman, the actor playing hitman Santos, who does not actually appear on the show, and was amused that Sheryl Lee keeps only appearing as a spectral presence. 

I find the relationship between Lynch's concerns and his style quite interesting and appealing. It may feel quite counter-intuitive to make pleasantly watchable films about the great darkness of the world, but if you believe (and repeatedly point out throughout your work) that there is great uncontrollable and unknowable evil in the world lurking in many corners, shapes and forms, it would make sense for your art to go out of its way to show that it itself is not evil, and in fact, rather comfortingly enjoyable. That's a big 'if', it's worth noting. The absurdity in Twin Peaks is much more part of a coherent worldview than in Wild at Heart where at times you have to wonder whether you are watching a prankster throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Much does though, and even if some of that is rather stupid, it does lead to stuff you won't readily see in other directors' work. 

I did sometimes wish that Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe and Diane Ladd chilled out a bit (Cage is great), but even that makes some sense as it taps into the world view of angsty and exhilarated teenagers with heightened emotions and big feelings. The car accident scene is another great example of that. It's morbidly funny and uncomfortable, but also a rather great expression of the fear of an insecure teenager that losing some important documents will be the end of the world.  Finally, as an aside. I already thought that the John Wick films would age rather badly (their fights become kind of repetitive and follow the same patterns) before finding out that their world building is pretty much ripped off from this film.