There is no filmmaker quite like David Lynch. His films are terrifying – the first time I tried to watch "Eraserhead" the vibe was so dark I had to come back and watch it again later; I now call it my favorite “horror” movie. He finds fear in the strangest of places: parenthood in "Eraserhead," identity in "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive," small-town America in "Twin Peaks" and "Blue Velvet." "Inland Empire" is like a three-hour nightmare, complete with false awakening.
Lynch was at the peak of his career in the late ‘80s / early ‘90s when the television show "Twin Peaks" was airing. At this time he also released "Wild at Heart," featuring his trademark bizarreness with his story of lovers on the run. Nicolas Cage is Sailor, who is just as unique and individual as the snakeskin jacket which is his trademark; Laura Dern is Lula, the love of his life; Diane Ladd is Marietta, Lula’s mother who wants Sailor dead and from whose reach the lovers are running. The film also stars Kentucky local and favorite Harry Dean Stanton as the investigator looking for the couple and Willem Dafoe in the most disturbing role you’re likely to see him in (except for perhaps in Lars von Trier’s "Antichrist").
Featuring the surreal sounds of Chris Isaak and a very strange allusion to a very familiar story, "Wild at Heart" is a fantastic and frightening film.
Dreamland presents a free screening of "Wild at Heart" tonight, Wednesday, March 11. Dreamland is located at 810 E. Market Street, in the alley behind Decca. Complete details of the event can be found at the Dreamland website.
Image courtesy of the Internet Movie Database
