Fire Walk with Me. The dialogue is formally composed and intentionally verbose. The scenarios are melodramatic, campy, and, at times, bizarre. Angelo Badlmenti can be heard banging around on a jazzy piano in the background. The entire Diane Ladd subplot feels like a scheme hatched by Ben and Audrey Horne! This may be because Lynch began working on the film shortly after completing the Twin Peaks pilot. Who knows? Either way, I loved it and felt right at home in this universe.
I like what you said about Lula yearning for a bigger world. We have our usual Lynchian themes of sexual abuse, but what differentiates Lula from Laura Palmer is that she has the agency to articulate her point of view and someone she loves who can listen, understand, and provide support. I honestly felt that one of the most romantic scenes in this very romantic movie was when Lula, disgusted by the stories of death, destruction, and perversion she hears on every radio station, pulls the car over, runs out, and demands that Sailor find her some music before she loses it. He jumps into action (settling on the head-banging Powermad) and joins her for a roadside thrashfest as the camera cranes upward toward the horizon. It’s a really beautiful moment of love and empathy between these two misfits who understand each other in ways no one else does.
I like what you said about Lula yearning for a bigger world. We have our usual Lynchian themes of sexual abuse, but what differentiates Lula from Laura Palmer is that she has the agency to articulate her point of view and someone she loves who can listen, understand, and provide support. I honestly felt that one of the most romantic scenes in this very romantic movie was when Lula, disgusted by the stories of death, destruction, and perversion she hears on every radio station, pulls the car over, runs out, and demands that Sailor find her some music before she loses it. He jumps into action (settling on the head-banging Powermad) and joins her for a roadside thrashfest as the camera cranes upward toward the horizon. It’s a really beautiful moment of love and empathy between these two misfits who understand each other in ways no one else does.
Lost Highway. In many ways, it makes Wild At Heart one of Lynch’s most humane films and one that makes my heart all warm and tingly despite how bat shit things get. I know you had a persoalan with the love-less nature of Lost Highway, so what did you make of the romance in Wild at Heart?
Rob: Comparing these two is very interesting. Lost Highway is, as you said, very cold and alienating. Sex and love are lies in that movie; they’re out-of-body experiences that fundamentally corrupt our identities in permanent, inescapable ways. On the other hand, sex in Wild at Heart is crucial and life-affirming. These characters are driven by their passion for each other — the interstitial sexual images punctuated by matches sparking to life makes this clear. Their naive passion may cloud their overall judgement, but it’s also a powerful shield against all the extracurricular bullshit that tries to trap them in societal boxes. It’s like Mission: Impossible. They can run from the real world as long as they keep that match burning. I actually thought about True Romance quite a bit on this rewatch. I think they’re interesting companions. Clarence and Alabama are (or at least act) more mature than Lula and Sailor, but they come to similar conclusions about love and sacrifice.
Rob: Comparing these two is very interesting. Lost Highway is, as you said, very cold and alienating. Sex and love are lies in that movie; they’re out-of-body experiences that fundamentally corrupt our identities in permanent, inescapable ways. On the other hand, sex in Wild at Heart is crucial and life-affirming. These characters are driven by their passion for each other — the interstitial sexual images punctuated by matches sparking to life makes this clear. Their naive passion may cloud their overall judgement, but it’s also a powerful shield against all the extracurricular bullshit that tries to trap them in societal boxes. It’s like Mission: Impossible. They can run from the real world as long as they keep that match burning. I actually thought about True Romance quite a bit on this rewatch. I think they’re interesting companions. Clarence and Alabama are (or at least act) more mature than Lula and Sailor, but they come to similar conclusions about love and sacrifice.
Blue Velvet.
Alejandra: Well, Sherilyn Fenn was my favorite cameo, too. There’s something really moving about that scene in a way that allows the audience to see Lula and Sailor’s relationship evolve into something forever unifying. They have now been through something together. Although the couple sees someone die at the beginning of the movie, it’s very different because we understand that that person was a bad guy, while Sherilyn character was the victim of some tragedy. However, If I had to choose a different favorite cameo, I think I would say that I loved seeing Isabella Rossellini again. As far as far as Bobby Peru goes, I did find myself thinking back to Frank Booth (who, in my opinion, is Lynch’s best “villain”), and sometimes even saw Bad Coop in him. I think Lynch’s best villains (if not all of them, actually) have a certain mobster element to them that is met with an unhinged insanity that makes them feel truly menacing. This is making me wonder which of Lynch’s bad guys would win if they were all pitted against each other. My money is still on Frank.
Alejandra: Well, Sherilyn Fenn was my favorite cameo, too. There’s something really moving about that scene in a way that allows the audience to see Lula and Sailor’s relationship evolve into something forever unifying. They have now been through something together. Although the couple sees someone die at the beginning of the movie, it’s very different because we understand that that person was a bad guy, while Sherilyn character was the victim of some tragedy. However, If I had to choose a different favorite cameo, I think I would say that I loved seeing Isabella Rossellini again. As far as far as Bobby Peru goes, I did find myself thinking back to Frank Booth (who, in my opinion, is Lynch’s best “villain”), and sometimes even saw Bad Coop in him. I think Lynch’s best villains (if not all of them, actually) have a certain mobster element to them that is met with an unhinged insanity that makes them feel truly menacing. This is making me wonder which of Lynch’s bad guys would win if they were all pitted against each other. My money is still on Frank.
The Straight Story have been the biggest revelations.
Any last thoughts on Wild at Heart?
Alejandra: Because I don’t revisit it very often, Wild at Heart always ranked kind of low on my list of Lynch Favorites, too, despite remembering having loved it so much. Although that has changed with my latest watch, I think it mainly has to do with how incredible all of his other work is, but that’s not to say that Wild at Heart is any different. I think that like The Straight Story, I seem to often overlook his more humane work because it’s not what I typically turn to Lynch for. But even just looking at the relationships in Lynch’s other work, such as Ed and Norma’s in Twin Peaks, it’s pretty clear that one of his greatest strengths is establishing intimacy and humanity between his characters like we see in Wild at Heart. This column has brought it to my attention that if there’s anything Lynch is capable of, it’s everything.
Rob: We’ll be back in a bit to talk about Lynch’s most recent theatrical effort, 2006’s Inland Empire. I’ve never seen it, and my Blu-ray just arrived, so I’m pretty excited. Until then, remember: This world is wild at heart…
Alejandra: And weird on top.
Any last thoughts on Wild at Heart?
Rob: We’ll be back in a bit to talk about Lynch’s most recent theatrical effort, 2006’s Inland Empire. I’ve never seen it, and my Blu-ray just arrived, so I’m pretty excited. Until then, remember: This world is wild at heart…
Alejandra: And weird on top.
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