Wild at art

David Lynch first came to my attention via a profile in The Weekend Australian ahead of the release of Wild At Heart

It spoke of his interest in settings of urban decay, as well as the mix of brutal realism and surreal fairy tale-like moments in his films.

A few months later I was a 16- or 17-year old at the cinema using a borrowed ID to buy a ticket to the R-rated film.

It didn't change my life but I think it did change how I see the world, at least a little.

Wild At Heart remains a favourite film and I like the way it presents romantic love as an antidote to all the evils of the modern wold.

It's a theme that continued in Twin Peaks but became complicated in films Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, where unreliable narrators use romantic love to try and keep a handle on their increasingly unbalanced lives.

I like the way Lynch keeps audiences unsettled and, while there are many aspects to his storytelling that are remarkable, there's something about the way that he reconciles all the varying viewpoints without compromising their individuality.

It's not without judgment but it recognises the richness they add.

It's a richness that I think distinguishes David Lynch's work.