Philadelphia Film Society

See something you'll never forget

WILD AT HEART

DAVID LYNCH | USA | 1990 | 125 MIN | R | ENGLISH, SPANISH 

You know you found the right movie when a violent bar room brawl at a metal concert leads immediately to a snakeskin-wearing Nicholas Cage jumping on stage to do a soulful rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me” to an adoring Laura Dern. Many scenes of David Lynch’s cheered and jeered-at Cannes winner is filled with a mishmash of hyperviolence, sexcapades, and outright ridiculousness that the simplest way to describe it is a dark comedy.  Arguably his one and only of the genre, WILD AT HEART captures the star-crossed lovers Sailor and Lula (Cage and Dern), of Berry Gifford’s long running novella series, on the run from Lula’s makeup smeared, frenzied mother Marietta (Diane Ladd). In between bouts of motel trysts, the two must work with and outsmart a number of disturbing gangsters including Willem Dafoe’s badly-in-need-of-floss Bobby Peru. WILD AT HEART kicked off Lynch’s 90s with a bang that was quickly subdued by Cannes’ outright rejection of his follow up selection on the Croissette, TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME, and remains an oddity in a director’s oeuvre built on it.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, J.E. Freeman

Part of the Cannes I Get A Boo? limited series
Relive the thrill of Cannes’ legendary croisette over the years as we present our favorite film debuts and prize winners along the French Riviera that were initially met with jeers from the festival’s notoriously vocal audience.

A Note on Health & Safety

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