Movie Review: Badlands (1973)
Badlands (1973), written, produced and directed by the legendary Terrence Malick, is the director’s masterful first feature. The extraordinarily reclusive director –his contracts stipulate that no pictures of him are to be taken– went on to make the superb Days of Heaven (1978) afterward before disappearing off the circulation for 20 years and coming back with the highly acclaimed The Thin Red Line (1998).
Made on a tiny $300,000 budget, the film is loosely based on the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree of 1957. It is told as a twisted romantic fairy tale-turned-road-movie as seen through the eyes of 15-yr old Holly (Sissy Spacek). Set in the 1950′s, she meets the sociopath Kit (Martin Sheen), a 25-yr old garbageman who immediately sweeps her off her feet thanks to his James Dean looks. One day, Kit murders Holly’s father after a confrontation. The two soon embark on a journey that turns into a deadly but ultimately pointless killing spree that takes them from their dusty South Dakota small town to the Badlands of Montana.
The narration by Holly has an offbeat, deadpan and naive detachment that gives the movie a disturbing and nonchalant feel despite what is happening on screen. She is so innocent and emotionally immature that everything she lives through seems like a fun summer road trip. She even takes her school textbooks along with her so as to not fall behind in school. Murder is as banal as stepping on an insect for the trigger happy and unpredictable Kit. He is cunning and has a bravado about him but he is as misguided and lost as any serial killer in movie history. Although Badlands sounds like a serial killer movie, it is in fact the psychological study of two lost children minds. The two don’t really mean no harm– Kit even says that he doesn’t approve of killing– they are just lonely and bored with their small town lives. The numerous murders are not even as shocking than the fact that both Holly and more particularly Kit don’t feel any feelings whatsoever after committing their senseless crimes. The two are so emotionally numb that they do not even know how to express love for each other and there is very little romance or passion between them. Just like two lost children, Holly and Kit don’t even have a plan to escape the law and just wander wherever the wind takes them. Martin Sheen gives the best performance of his career as the unpredictable Kit and Sissy Spacek is equally good in a low-key turn as his accomplice.
The film itself keeps the viewer at a certain distance from what is happening on screen and does not pass judgment on the characters. Malick does not attempt to convey any symbolism, meaning or message to the viewer, leaving us to make our own conclusion. The violence is kept to a minimum and the power of suggestion and off-screen action is used masterfully. When so many directors and writers feel like they have to spell everything down to the last letter, Terrence Malick is the opposite: self-assured and confident that we can decipher the movie by ourselves. As it has become the trademark of Malick, romanticism and visual poetry permeates the film and it is apparent in the stunning photography by Tak Fujimoto which conveys the immensity and desolation of the northern Midwest as well as Malick’s obsession with nature’s overwhelming immensity. The haunting soundtrack reinforces the contrasting feels of the movie and is used to perfection. It truly is hard to believe that this film is almost 40 years old, it doesn’t look or feel like it has aged at all.
Malick captures the surreal yet banal aspect of completely deserted landscapes to complement his characters’ empty souls. When most directors have to choose between style or substance, Malick is able to give viewers an excess of both. In a society fascinated with violent crimes and serial killers, he is making a satire that shows us that there might be nothing glamorous or extraordinary about the life of two wanted criminals.
A timeless and haunting cult classic, Badlands captures the tragedy of two alienated rebels without a cause, drifting beyond the bounds of society. Like every Malick film, it is incredibly lush and worthy of multiple viewings.
A-
Lesson of the Day: Beware of the garbageman
Notes: PG-rated, 94 minutes.
![Watch: Creepy Trailer for Slasher Pic ‘Maniac’ [NSFW]](http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/wp-content/themes/yamidoo_pro/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/elijah-wood-maniac-tb.jpg&w=50&h=50&zc=1)
23 Comments
I’ve always admired Malick for his technical precision in directing, but I’ve only seen Thin Red Line and New World, both of which felt as if they dragged on for 7 years. Would be nice to revisit his earlier stuff and see how he goes around with a tighter runtime, thanks for positive reminder
Agreed on The New World. I actually went on a double date to see this, my suggestion, and after an hour, the other couple went to their car to do things that shouldn’t be printed and my girl at the time fell asleep. Needless to say, never bring your woman to a Malick movie.
However, Badlands sounds insanely entertaining based on the review, and I’ll definitely check it out. Good stuff!
Terrence Malick films are not for everyone!
While those may sound like a slant, I actually very much enjoy The Thin Red Line, another outskirter on my top 100. As my list will attest to, I love a good epic film, but with so many favorites sneaking in multiple views of an enjoyed, but not beloved, film is difficult. So I say it probably hasn’t gotten appropriate number of views for judging.
New World just never connected for me on an emotional level, and therefore I wasn’t interested much (despite my curiosity about the story surrounding Pocahontas).
Kind of sounds like an early version of Nature Born Killers just less psychedelic
I always thought it was closer to “True Romance,” but maybe that’s just because they use the same score. There is really only one “killer” in “Badlands.”
Sonofabitch, I’ve been meaning to see this for ages now. Bumping it to the top of the queue. I really need to watch more stuff by Malick.
Umm…Peckinpah…?
I’ve never seen it nor even heard of it, but it sounds rather compelling.
It’s always a tribute to a filmmaker when a film can age so gracefully.
Gosh I love this film. I’ve ranked it as number one of Malick’s movies. I just think this had more influence on the genre than “Bonnie and Clyde”. I’ve always loved the direct homage in “True Romance”.
Great review of a great film Castor.
Thank you sir!
Great review. I haven’t seen the entire thing (just a ten minute clip from a doc on Sissy Spacek), but from what I have seen, this is pretty spot-on. I wish they’d make more movies like this, though. The Bonnie-and-Clyde thing, y’know. The last one I saw was this TV biopic on the actual Starkweather-Fugate case. I think someone’s making a new B&C film, but it stars Hilary Duff, so who gives a shit?
Alright, then.
But Michael Madsen is in the new remake with Duff…
So is Alison Pill. Does that excuse the fact that Lizzie McGuire is not only trying to replace Faye Dunaway, but is actually questioning her upmost Godessatude (it’s a word now)?
Haven’t seen this one and the cast doesn’t really appeal to me. But I might give it a chance on account of Malick. I’ve got to see The Thin Red Line also one of these days.
You are commenting on my blog from London! That’s awesome
And I always forget it’s rated PG…the themes and psychological warfare it engages in is rough.
Nice review, but I don’t see how you could claim that Malick uses no symbolism in his work. I’m fresh off writing an auteur theory research paper on Malick, so I can say that symbolism is heavily prevalent in his work. Water, fire, nature in general, Holly’s father… they are just a few of the things in “Badlands” that show up as recurring symbolic themes in Malick’s other films.
I also disagree about the symbolism; all of his films are filled with it, especially in the way he uses nature to say things he doesn’t say through the characters.
He sure doesn’t digest his ideas for us and most of his films feel quite ambiguous but he has certain archetypes he uses again and again.
@ Kevin, Jose: Ah I sort of failed to communicate myself clearly. Obviously, Malick does use a lot of symbolism in the way he shots the movie or his obsession with nature for examples. What I meant in the review was that there was no symbolism in Kit and Holly’s criminal acts themselves. They don’t do it for greed, revenge or passion. They simply do it for no reason.
I need to get some Malick love going on here. Despite his iconic status, I don’t think I’ve seen any more than one or two of his films.
I haven’t seen any, just bits and pieces on Youtube and beyond. So, good for you, with two under your belt.
Yet another great film from Malick and one of the best debut features from any director. Yet as great as it is, some of the moment I’m still unsure of. The musical cues, in particular, bug me a lot as being perhaps a bit too obvious and blatant, spelling out the nature of the romance between Kit and Holly.
However, it’s a film I can pick up at any moment and enjoy and still remains as one of my favorites.
Trackbacks