Would you believe me if I told you that this is the first David Lynch film that I have ever seen? Yeah, it's true. I somehow had never actually seen anything that he'd made until now. It's kind of funny, I don't really hear people talk about this one as much as Mulholland Drive or Blue Velvet or Eraserhead or even Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. But I gotta say, this is a hell of an introduction.

Wild at Heart was a brilliant movie with fantastic characters, story, and imagery throughout. The whole film was just one giant fun-loving experience punctuated with moments of darkness. The movie basically feels like a re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz mixed with a love story from the early 90's indie scene similar to True Romance or Natural Born Killers, only with all of the quintessential weird quirks and imagery that Lynch will sprinkle throughout.

For me, the heart and soul of this movie lies in the chemistry between our two leads, Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. Both are absolutely fantastic in their performances as two young and wild lovers who are trying to escape to freedom from the clutches of conformity and incarceration. Their relationship is such a sincere joy to watch, whether they're dancing in a club, driving through the desert, or just laying in bed together and talking. Both of them exude so much charisma in their roles, that it's almost worth it to watch this movie just for them. Also, Cage sings Elvis songs in the movie. That's pretty cool.

And honestly, that's probably the one word that I would pick to describe this movie. It's just "cool". It oozes "cool". Whether it's Cage's Elvis-like voice, his snakeskin jacket that is a symbol of his individuality and his belief in personal freedom, the music and occasional heavy metal riffs that blare out, or even just the casual Lynchian cookiness and dark humor throughout, the film is just so damn awesome to watch. I especially love the color and imagery in this movie. There's a lot of rich color in the film that makes it so stunning to look at, and the Wizard of Oz imagery throughout the movie reminds you that this is a fun romp.

I really really loved watching this movie. It's one of the four or five best films that Nic Cage has been in, in my opinion. I can't wait to watch other David Lynch movies and dive deeper into his brand of film making.

5/5