Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)

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1. 

   lachyas

   An achingly beautiful movie with phenomenal performances that is only really held back by a generic plot and uninspired 'action' scenes. I've seen it criticised for its slow pacing, but really I don't think the film could work any other way; the greatest strength of Ain't Them Bodies Saints is the way it lulls the viewer into an almost dream-like, hypnotic state with its gorgeous, surreal cinematography and restrained score, and then awakens you suddenly with bursts of realistic violence. It's not exactly a new trick, but David Lowery pulls it off wonderfully.
   
   The movie is morally ambiguous and you never really know who to root for. There are no 'good guys' and 'bad guys' (with one possible exception), which is summed up by one of my favourite lines of the movie, when Rooney Mara's character responds to Patrick (played perfectly by Ben Foster) telling her that when he looks at her all he sees is good: "Maybe I'm just fooling you all". Not to sound too wanky, but the movie as a whole really does have a poetic, lyrical beauty to it, but this never obscures a true moral centre and very well-developed characters. Definitely a triumph from Lowery, even if the film is perhaps just a little too indebted to the likes of Terrance Malick. 10 years 6 months ago
2. 

   mpouk

   The low key style and the good performances capture well the feeling of the era, however the plot development is feeble and leads some of the characters' actions and motives seeming inconsequential and arbitrary. Generally it fails to reach its loft aspirations (Badlands mainly) being noticeable less than the sum of its parts, yet it is not devoid of interest. 10 years 6 months ago
3. 

   CrumbThumber

   wonderfully enthralling 10 years 7 months ago

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