Film: Days of Heaven

Director: Terrence Malick
Genre: Drama
Source: USA (1978)
Rating: PG
Location/Format: Criterion Blu-ray
Grade: B+

I think I overhyped Days of Heaven for myself. The last two Malick films I watched--Tree of Life and Badlands--are both in my top ten (or twenty) movies of all time. Both films had a profound impact on me and left me reeling with the beauty and power of cinema. And I'd heard so many times that Days of Heaven is one of the most beautiful films ever shot. And it really is beautiful. The artistry of those fields, of the sky, of the interplay of golden light and breathtaking landscapes. It is a film I want to watch again for a number of reasons, not least of which is to drink in the visuals again. As in Badlands, I feel like Malick knows how to film fire like no one else. It's gorgeous, and the whole movie really is rich in that regard.

And yet.

Much as I was drawn in by the beauty of the film, I had a hard time connecting with this film. Perhaps it was the gratingly harsh accent of Linda as she narrated the movie. (Really, I am not sure what she added to the film, and it's one reason I feel like I must have missed something, since she seemed so . . . irrelevant to the plot and flow of the film.) Perhaps it was the way the film cut through moments and scenes and weeks before I knew what was happening. Perhaps it was the abrupt and seemingly incongruous ending. But it just didn't grab me the way I hoped it would. It seemed choppy--not with the artistry of Tree of Life, but with like it was put together by a hand trying to cram in so much that it forgot to work out the pacing.

Still, that house on the bare landscape. Sam Shepard (and holy cow, is that guy the man, or is that guy the man? It's so easy to just get wrapped up in his fantastic performances, from this film to The Right Stuff to Mud just this past summer--and then you realize, wait, he is also a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright? Some people are just dripping with talent). The magic hour glow. All of the pieces of greatness are there, and so I'm left with the dissatisfaction of the subjectivity of film, when you're left to wonder what captured everyone else that you missed. I won't dispute the beauty of the film, but I found myself disappointed with the screenplay and the editing.

I wholly admit, this was just a gut reaction, and as I said, I want to see the film again, and as I also said, I did like it. I had just hoped (maybe even expected?) to love it. And this time through I didn't. 

On the other hand, that's just another reason I'm glad I own it. It really will allow me the opportunity to watch it again, to watch it with commentary, to study it and figure out what I'm missing. I love that. 

Alternate Film Title: "Richard Gere's Translucent Duster"