Wild at Heart

Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage play sexually charged star-crossed lovers in David Lynch’s transamerican road trip romp.

After being released from the Pee Dee Correctional Institution, a snakeskin-clad Sailor breaks parole and hits the road in his Thunderbird convertible with his girlfriend Lula. With relentless determination, Lula’s mother pulls out all the stops to track the lovers down and tear them apart.

Curator's note

Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley hit the road.

It’s said that David Lynch described the film in this way to the cast during production. What better encapsulation of an Americana fantasy than two screen icons (or versions thereof) taking to the open highway for a glorious, gasoline-guzzling, gun-toting trip across the country? Layered on top of this are frequent allusions to The Wizard of Oz, itself set in the American heartland and a fantastical dreamland.

In early 1990, the first season of Twin Peaks had just released to a phenomenal response in North America (and later the world) and all eyes were on David Lynch. Wild at Heart premiered at the 43rd Cannes Film Festival mere weeks later, where it ended up receiving the coveted Palme d’Or.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)