Set in 1970s Texas, David Lowery's Aint Them Bodies Saints is the story of outlaw Bob Muldoon who escapes from Prison and sets out across Texas to reunite with his wife and daughter who he has never met. Ain't Them Bodies Saints best attribute is its cinematography, with nearly every frame drenched in sunlight that effectively gives the film this poetic look and feel. Lowery does a lot of nice things from a visual standpoint but unfortunately the visual poetry doesn't translate to narrative poetry as much as the filmmakers had hoped. David Lowery also proves to have an excellent eye for casting, with Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Ben Foster, and Keith Carradine all being exceptionally well cast with Foster especially giving a note-worthy performance. Ain't Them Bodies Saints is a film that simply put, tries too hard to get its point across. The film sets its sights on delivering a poetic story about love, fate, and consequences but much of what the film is trying to say never quite materializes. It's a dense exploration so I guess it deserved a little slack, but I found many of the films more poetic moments coming from cliched Malick-isms of voice over and wide shots. Maybe I am being a bit harsh, as there are some great lyrical moments of dialogue and resonance, but for every one of those moments there is another moment that teeters on pretension. Fate is a major theme as well and the film certainly gets this across but I guess my bigger problem is how ponderous the film is getting there, bringing lots to the table but never going below the surface to explore these ideas. Even with its faults Ain't Them Bodies Saints establishes David Lowery as a filmmaker to watch though I hope his next effort is a little more streamlined in getting across what it wants to say. 6.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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