Overview
A wild road trip turns deadly as love and danger intertwine.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- surreal
- volatile
- melancholic
- late night viewing
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics were divided over the film's flamboyant surrealism, cartoonish characterization, excessive violence, and audacious visual energy, though its reputation improved with retrospective reassessment.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Lynch frames Sailor and Lula's journey through lurid Americana, violent tableaux, and references to The Wizard of Oz.
Sailor and Lula leave together for California while Marietta's hired killer pursues them across the road journey.
The relationship between Sailor and Lula is surrounded by hitmen, forbidden desire, family abuse, and heightened emotional performances.
Texas, Louisiana, roadside hotels, criminal outsiders, and family corruption create a darkly regional mythology.
Films like Wild at Heart, and why
Blue Velvet
Shares neo-noir crime melodrama, stylized violence, doomed romance, and a surreal American road atmosphere.
True Romance
Shares eccentric lovers, black comedy, heightened Americana, and a volatile crime narrative shaped by David Lynch's surrealism.
Bonnie and Clyde
Shares a rebellious couple fleeing danger through a stylized criminal underworld, with romantic intensity and outlaw road movie energy.
Fargo
Shares darkly comic neo-noir, grotesque criminal figures, dreamlike imagery, and an unsettling collision of romance and violence.
Movie Details
- Director
- David Lynch
- Release Date
- 1990-08-17
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (1991)
Cast
- Nicolas Cage
- Laura Dern
- Willem Dafoe
- Diane Ladd
- Harry Dean Stanton
- J.E. Freeman
- Isabella Rossellini
- Grace Zabriskie
- Calvin Lockhart
- William Morgan Sheppard
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Wild at Heart about?
- Two passionate fugitives cross a grotesque American landscape while family vengeance and hired violence threaten their outlaw romance.
- What is Wild at Heart like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Wild at Heart as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Wild at Heart violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Wild at Heart as graphic.
- What did critics think of Wild at Heart?
- Critics were divided over the film's flamboyant surrealism, cartoonish characterization, excessive violence, and audacious visual energy, though its reputation improved with retrospective reassessment.
- Which films are like Wild at Heart?
- Films with a similar feel include Blue Velvet, True Romance, Bonnie and Clyde, and Fargo.
- How long is Wild at Heart?
- Wild at Heart runs 125 minutes.
- Where can I watch Wild at Heart?
- In United States, Wild at Heart streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
