Wild At Heart

Wild At Heart is a surrealistic road movie through hell, called Texas, haunted by the ghosts of Elvis Presley and The Wizard of Oz. It follows star-crossed lovers Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lulu (Laura Dern) — who served as the prototype for Tarantino's Mickey and Mallory in Natural Born Killers, made four years later — as they flee from the law and live life by their own rules while being pursued by personal demons and assassins. Although one of Lynch's more straightforward scripts, Wild At Heart is crazier and more twisted than memory serves. What takes it from unusual to stunning, however, is its amazing cast: Diane Ladd (Laura Dern's real-life mom) received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of an on-the-edge parent, Willem Dafoe gets a mouthful of bad teeth for his role, while Crispin Glover steals all of his very brief onscreen time. There's only so much description that can illuminate a David Lynch film; the director especially doesn't want to delve too far into what's actually happening. He claims to have no idea, for example, how all those Wizard of Oz references found their way into his film (which he wrote, adapting it from the novel by Barry Gifford). Featurettes on his work, interwoven with extended interviews with the cast, reveal that many great actors will do whatever Lynch asks, but don't expect them to understand or explain it. Like Wild At Heart, it's a journey and you just have to face what's in your path when you come to it. Plus: Lynch on the DVD transfer, two "making of" featurettes, image gallery, more. (MGM)