Alternate Best Actor 1990: Nicolas Cage in Wild At Heart

Nicolas Cage did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying “Sailor” Ripley in Wild At Heart.

Wild At Heart follows two young lovers as they try to run away from one of their vengeful mothers. 

Early Nicolas Cage is his own beast entirely and not even the established "Nouveau Shamanic" who we have a whole different set of expectations of. Early Nicolas Cage is sheer madness that likely could’ve never existed without his family connections, in that just quite literally he would’ve been fired from Peggy Sue Getting Married, yet the world would’ve less for it. As young Cage has quite frankly an ambition of insanity that few young actors would’ve ever attempted to have tried in his approach to each and every role. And I won’t even say that each and every one was genius, in fact I personally would’ve supported the studio decision with Peggy Sue quite frankly yet even in that misguided performance one could still sense talent beneath the surface of some needlessly bizarre choices. Cage’s journey was perhaps helped by finding some ideal filmmakers to help channeling his energies, first by the off-beat Coen Brothers in Raising Arizona, and then by David Lynch in this film. Lynch being a filmmaker with his own oft used adjective where his films, in a way, are a genre of their own. Where a little bit of insanity in his young performer probably makes sense just to fit in. 

Cage certainly has that bit of insanity intensity here though he’s actually far less dogmatic in his approach than his work in his Uncle’s film. The surface though is that of Elvis which is textually the film any ways since the character of Sailor fashions himself as an Elvis, but what’s even more particular is the fact that Cage as a person is always kind of being a little Elvisy even when he’s not playing an Elvis impersonator. Cage though actually plays two different styles of that wisely in making Sailor as the man and the presentation of Sailor as he presents himself as a public figure. In those latter scenes, including the singing scenes I wouldn’t even say Cage plays Elvis but maybe even more accurately plays the Elvis of Elvis films with the distinct heightened delivery and of course breaking out into your seemingly random song. The physicality of his work is just a live wire of Elvislike movement but taken to a greater extreme that is often quite marvelous to behold here. And under the masterful guidance of David Lynch, Cage’s approach this time around wholly works and there is something quite captivating in his whole presentation as the man who lives life to be Elvis in this way, and lives life his way. He also of course wears a snakeskin jacket which of course is a symbol of one’s individuality and belief in personal freedom, which I love Cage’s perfect delivery of that as a credo he knows by his very soul. 

Now as much as the more expressive elements of Cage’s performance work within the style of Lynch, I think core to the film’s success is within the relationship between Sailor and Lula (Laura Dern). A fairly unique relationship for a film where the connection between the two is both one of extreme lust and love. Dern’s performance in far more ways than ones matches Cage’s energies where they are both these extremes together in a way where it just seems they are made for each other. Yet the pivotal balancing factor exists beyond the moments of intense lust, as much as Cage and Dern play that sense of immediate ferocious attraction and physical pleasure they get out of each other so convincingly and particularly in the way each can so luridly deliver their come on lines and seriously eye…well you enough, each other before getting on to the actual act quite frequently. There is the balance of within that real warmth and connection in the quiet moments they also share where they speak and frankly console each other in dealing with the insanity of their lives, which are naturally complicated by jail, crime, and Lula’s demented mother (Diane Ladd) wanting to either have sex with or kill Sailor. Dern and Cage bring it down wonderfully, still having within even their accents the theoretical extremes, yet tempered well to earn the moments of genuine connection they share in revealing the genuine love the two share. 

Cage offers a very atypical protagonist for going through the trashy noir narrative and in doing so does offer a spark of unpredictability through it yet also creates a strange cohesion. Cage manages to instead find the right approach in certain moments such as dealing with potentially or maybe overtly sinister people like Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) trying to pull him in a criminal scheme. Where Cage finds an effective balance through the particular way Sailor Elvises his way through life but with those moments of reflection still of someone who is trying to do right. Cage being an essential part for example of the crime gone wrong, designed for Peru to kill Sailor, where Cage’s reactions match the madness of Dafoe’s performance beautifully in his freakout but humane freakout against the complete grotesque derangement of what Dafoe is doing. Honestly one of my favorite moments of Cage’s performance is his reaction in finding a dying crashed motorist (Sherilyn Fenn), where Cage even within that Elvis voice offers genuine empathy as Sailor tries to help the woman out before succumbing to her wounds. It is those intimacies that help to earn the operatic and really finding a beautiful combination of both such as in the grand finale after getting out of jail due to his attempted robbery with Peru. A finale that does have Cage, rejecting Lula and his young son, “for their own good” beaten by a group of men, get reminded about love by Glinda the Good, then dramatically rush back to them and obviously finally sing “Love me Tender”. That’s a whole lot of swings that somehow are kind of wonderful where Cage is essential as he does go for the grandiose in his declaration of “Lula” at the top of his lungs, yet there is also this strict sincerity when he catches with her, and his delivery of “Love Me Tender”, well tender it is. Cage is an unwieldy energy that Lynch wields ideally. Cage is a whole lot as Sailor, but in a way that works here. Finding a balance where yes Sailor acts like Elvis, but you also completely believe in this man who acts like Elvis, and especially believe in his adoration for the woman he loves.