Wouldn't it be great to do something only four times in 37 years and be declared one of the greatest geniuses of your profession? As implausible as that sounds, somehow film auteur Terrence Malick has managed it, directing only four films in his 37 year career and yet miraculously building one of the most rabid fanbases in all of moviedom. You would think that four films in this amount of time span would create too small a sampling to create a fanbase for a director, but Malick's upcoming film, "The Tree of Life" (release date May 27, 2011), is the most hotly anticipated film in the movie blogging community. The advantage of the brief filmography is that it creates one of the easiest "film festivals" to complete. Hell, even if you wanted to do an "Ed Wood film festival" (if you're into masochism), that would take nine films, so the "Terrence Malick film festival" is relatively just a blink of the eye.
I started on this bunny hill of a film festival with Malick's first film, 1973's "Badlands". "Badlands" stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek (who both look shockingly young) as a twenty-five year old man from the wrong side of the tracks and fifteen-year old girl raised by her father in nowhere-ville South Dakota. One day after walking home from his job as a garbage man, Sheen sees Spacek playing with a baton in her front yard and immediately takes an interest and approaches her. After a short conversation, the two start up relationship until Spacek's father finds out about the two and forbids her from seeing Sheen. After a failed attempt from Sheen to convince Spacek's father to let the relationship continue, Sheen breaks into Spacek's house with a gun and demands to take Spacek away with him. When her father refuses to acquiesce to Sheen's demands, he attempts to call the police but is shot and killed by Sheen before he can reach the phone. From then on, Sheen and Spacek go on the run, as the body count at the end of Sheen's gun piles up.
The story takes place sometime during the 1950's and is loosely based on the real lives of Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate who went on a similar murder spree in 1958. The film is far from your usual "couple on the run" bio-pic though, instead delving more into the character study genre. In fact, the film's sole focus is on Sheen and Spacek, as all other characters come off as extremely peripheral. This means Malick puts immense weight on his very young actors, but both Sheen and Spacek are more than up to the task and prove why that have had sustained success in their careers. The film marches along at a slow pace, but never loses your attention, and this is largely do to Sheen and Spacek constantly drawing the audience into the enigmatic minds of their characters.
Even though it was Malick's first film, the film firmly establishes the style that he is known for. Having seen two out of the three other Malick films (part of the festival is about rewatching films), there are a lot of similarities between his films. The similarity that stands out the most though is Malick's obvious love and passion for nature. In this film, and the other two Malick films I've seen, there are many wide shots showing us the vastness and beauty of the natural world. While on the run, Sheen and Spacek live in a tree house for a short time, which sets up another Malick staple: characters surveying the wilderness in all its majestic glory. This fawning over nature can be a bit self-indulgent at times (especially in "The New World"), but in this film (for the most part), it works.
Along with the strengths of a typical Malick film though, comes the weaknesses. In particular, the one problem I usually have with Malick's films is the reserved coolness with which the events unfold. In "Badlands", the scene where this problem is most apparent is when Sheen kills Spacek's father. Both characters appear almost completely unfazed by the murder (and all proceeding murders) which might make sense in Sheen's case, but even though Spacek didn't appear to be too chummy with her father, her reaction is a bit off-putting. To keep Spacek's character in the realm of humanity, there is a quick scene after Sheen murders her father where she slaps Sheen, but this scene feels tacked on for the express purpose of keeping the audience somewhat sympathetic toward Spacek.
This scene also addresses my larger problem with the film: the characters are too emotionally distant. Both characters are incredibly aloof about everything, yet both take extreme actions that would cause extreme anguish for many individuals. Sheen's character kills people without a second thought and it's hard to get a pulse on what motivates him until the end of the film, when it becomes clear that as nonchalant as he is about life, occasional delusions of grandeur drive some of his spontaneous actions. Spacek's character never really comes into focus. She's totally naive at times but watches without emotion as her boyfriend murders innocent people (including her own father). She basically seems to be a very young child in a fifteen year-old's body, because as immature as fifteen year-old girls can be, I've never met any teenagers this emotionally distant. As weird as they are though, there are probably people in the world who resemble these characters, but the film fails to shed much light on who they are or why they do what they do, which leaves the viewer as emotionally distant from the film as the characters appear to be about life.
Even with its emotional wall, the events of the film are strangely captivating. Sheen and Spacek showcase their acting prowess, and Malick is able to make his presence felt (both strengths and weaknesses) in his debut feature. If your a fan of Sheen, Spacek, or Malick, this is a must-see, and even if your not, it's an unique view of a murding spree that's worth checking out.
Rating: 8/10
Christopher Lominac
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