Review: Badlands (1973)

I finally got around to seeing this one. Written and directed by Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line and The Tree of Life) and starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. It’s based on an actual story from the 1950s, where a young man and younger girlfriend take off on a killing spree through the American Midwest. Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek deliver outstanding and believable performances. Warren Oates also does a fine job in the smaller role of Sissy Spacek's father. It’s beautifully filmed, and the characters are compelling from the start. A unique and somewhat haunting musical score adds to the experience. I should point out that this movie does NOT glorify the crimes being committed, but it sheds a little light on those involved. Although quite violent, it's not graphic in nature and is rated PG. This was only Sissy Spacek's second credited feature film role; the start of quite a career. Martin Sheen was previously a regular in various television series, but this was his debut feature film role. He was compared to James Dean in the movie, and this comparison holds true. There is a toughness and vulnerability to his character. This was also Terrence Malick's debut as a feature film director. I personally appreciated this film more than his follow up Days of Heaven, released five years later. I saw that film recently and thought it was disjointed and the characters were underdeveloped. While this film is easy to follow along with, there are several layers at work here, and the character development is complete. I highly recommend this movie. Grade: A