Wild at Heart is not only a Tribute to The Wizard of Oz, it is now a Tribute to David Lynch and his Love of Cinema

Here we go again. The title says it all, and (spoiler) the characters say it too. Everyone truly is “wild at heart”. There is no shortage of insanity and true passion in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. Expect the unexpected once more, with Lynch throwing in his typical twists and turns. Perhaps it is all an illusion as he would come to say. But while it may be an illusion, it truly shows the wonders of life and just how short a time we have on the planet. Watching this blood-soaked, psychologically intense, and sexually explicit film 36 years after it won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, allows audiences to clearly see the impact and aesthetics of Lynch and his cinema. 

Taking it further back than Lynch’s career, the world is introduced to a magical world of good and evil. This world has an evil green witch and a kind and sweet pink one, a yellow brick road one must follow, a wizard, and a girl, her dog and friends she meets along the way. Of course this refers to The Wizard of Oz (Fleming, 1939), a film that Lynch has mentioned as being one that inspired him greatly. If we can see the affect The Wizard of Oz had on Lynch fully at any point in his career, it is most definitely in the references made in Wild at Heart. At times it practically becomes a tribute to the 1939 film. That being said, there is definitely more to it than just an homage to a film that influenced him greatly. 

The Wizard of Oz1939

After being released from prison and attempting to leave behind a troubled past, Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and his young lover Lula (Laura Dern) set off in search of freedom. Fleeing from both his parole and her deranged mother, Marietta (Diane Ladd), they plan to move from North Carolina to the utopia they believe can be found in California. As they believe their plans cannot fail, everything changes when Marietta hires a team of hit men to save her daughter from the trouble of Sailor. 

You can see just how much of a creative Lynch was, and is, within moments of Wild at Heart commencing. From his opening and transitions (such as a match being lit) to his casting choices, everything screams auteur and individuality. When you spend time studying different directors in University and then you go out in the world and watch their films in the cinema, you cannot help but nerd out about it. With the British Film Institute’s one month tribute to “The Dreamer” that is David Lynch there is nothing more mystical than the experience of these films in cinema. David Lynch is a director who, though we can never confirm, definitely knew exactly what he was doing. In each of his films he had a clear goal in mind. Most of the time, as a viewer, where he is most successful is when he leaves you completely lost and deranged by the end. However, Wild at Heart is much easier to follow. That being said, you still wonder about what you saw and why, which is what makes it perfectly Lynchian at heart. 

In fact, even though we know about the film’s The Wizard of Oz references all these years later, on the surface it manages to appear as if there are none. If you begin the film without prior readings or knowledge, you would expect it to turn into a road trip romance. A film that could have been completely basic was of course was not in the hands of Lynch, and it became something entirely his own. Taking Barry Gifford’s novel Wild at Heart and changing it completely, Lynch added the story to his roster of Lynchian cinema. Though the plot remains quite similar to the novel, between adding characters and his personal flare, Lynch notes that the biggest changes were the The Wizard of Oz references and twists he added in. 

In Wild at Heart, Lynch presents his audience with two lovers in search of a new home for themselves. Marietta is seen as the wicked witch and Sailor and Lula continue on their escape from her grasp. The references made to The Wizard of Oz throughout the film are absolutely remarkable, making you appreciate how he has changed a young girl’s story of needing to find her way home to a romantic need about finding freedom in a new one. As he takes the most memorable elements from The Wizard of Oz — Glinda the Good and her pink bubble, the witch on her broomstick, the yellow brick road, and the red slippers — he crafts and shapes them into his own imagination. Wild at Heart is much more than a reinvention of a beloved classic, however. It is an homage to previous cinema and it remains intact with Lynch and his dreamscape. 

Laura Dern, stupendous as she is in Wild at Heart, previously worked with Lynch on his 1986 film Blue Velvet. Her return to his world in this mind bending romance proves just how talented she is. When you combine the two, they can put on a performance that leaves everyone in a state (yes, whether good or bad). With a film as delusional as this, a filmmaker requires the right actors for the roles. Lynch found just what he needed in Dern, but bringing in Cage, Ladd, Isabella Rossellini (previously working with her on Blue Velvet too), Harry Dean Stanton, Willem Dafoe, and J.E. Freeman brought the sinister, creepy and at points plainly psychotic elements that were required. As with all Lynchian films and elements, the American dreamscape he plans out always has its creepy cast of characters. Whether being stuck with them at the beginning, or meeting them along their journey, Sailor and Lula do not run short of the weird and wacko, who are portrayed with superior talent by this stacked cast. 

Blue Velvet1986

Not only did Lynch combine his typical glamour with the cast and his homage to The Wizard of Oz, he also brings that pop of colour which appears somewhere in each of his films. Here, the rainbow is explored to help portray character emotions throughout the film. As they feel certain ways or experience certain things, we as the audience are taken on one specific journey through Lynch’s use of colour.

Though there are always multiple interpretations to a David Lynch film, including Wild at Heart, they do always leave you feeling a particular sort of way. It’s difficult to explain, but something different happens when you have studied the director and then proceed to watch his films. 

Wild at Heart presents itself as a wild, zany and wacky love filled ride. Everything one can experience on a cross-country road trip feels thrown out the window and something different occurs. From his own twists and turns, to his influence from The Wizard of Oz, his 1990 epic tale does not fall short of how passionate and compelling this artist is.