She’s fun-loving, sexy, and in total command of herself. Unlike the laughing gas-induced attacks in Blue Velvet or the mysterious murder of Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks, we don’t see the act itself so there’s no risk of it being confused for narrative pleasure we see only the aftereffects on a female character we instantly fall in love with. What distinguishes the sexual assault in Wild at Heart from Lynch’s other films is that Laura Dern’s Lula is given full agency in its depiction. In fact, if I’d known the film would be dealing with sexual assault, I’d have avoided it. It wasn’t what I’d expected – wasn’t this just the pulpy one with Nicolas Cage in a snakeskin jacket? I hadn’t thought of Lynch as an empathetic filmmaker, as someone capable of tackling the psychological effects physical abuse has on women. Despite being released in 1990, it was one of those rare moments when a hand reached out, took mine, and told me it knew how I felt. I hadn’t made this connection between The Wizard of Oz and my PTSD until I saw David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. A click of the ruby slippers, “There’s no place like home…” and I’m safe again. We do this when my treatment triggers something and I start to disassociate as my mind convinces me I’m reliving the past. My therapist says the magic words I chose, and I’m sitting in my grandad’s armchair in their cosy living room, the scent of lavender wafting through.

When you’re undergoing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), one technique is to close your eyes and transport yourself to a safe space. “There’s no place like home… There’s no place like home… There’s no place like home…” Its uncanniness frightens her, and through sheer will power she escapes. It’s soon turned upside down, a puff of red smoke and the Wicked Witch of the West appears, doing everything she can to stop Dorothy returning home. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Dorothy says this line excitedly – it’s thrilling to leave the drab sepia world of 1930s America for the glorious Technicolor of Oz.

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