Review of Days of Heaven (1978) by Edith N — 09 May 2008

Actually, unusually for films with that style of title, I can tell you pretty much what's going on. I just don't [i]care[/i]. It's a lovely film, and I'm relatively fond of Richard Gere, but honestly, there's really no one pleasant in the entire film. Frankly, the best character in the film is the light. As implied by the title, this is filmed in what is known as The Magic Hour, that hour of light where the sun is setting but it is not yet dark. This gives a rich, golden light that reeks of nostalgia, and that's a good thing. I just can't fathom anyone being nostalgic for the grim events and unpleasant people in this story.

Richard Gere plays Bill, who gets fired from a mill job in Chicago in 19-something. During the Wilson administration; I'm pretty sure it's 1919. He has a girlfriend, Abby (Brooke Adams) and a sister, Linda (Linda Manz). They end up working for a farmer (Sam Shepard, who gets no character name), though I'm not sure how or why. And Bill convinces Abby to marry the dying, um, Farmer. He figures, based on what a doctor says, that the guy has a few months to live, and if Abby marries him, she stands to inherit the farm, the house, and all, and she'll be able to marry Bill--who is posing as her brother. (This plot point, which is important, did not seem to me to be adequately explained within the story; I [i]know[/i] he was, but I'm not sure I would have worked it out myself.) Naturally, Farmer lives longer than expected. Disaster ensues.

This is a lovely, lovely film. The choice of light is perfect. It plays well over the sprawling wheat fields. Richard Gere looks rugged and desperate; Abby looks put-upon but lovely. Linda . . . looks like a kid in a movie. I had no problems with the look of the film, and the music was done by the talented Ennio Morricone. It sounded vaguely familiar, though I couldn't really place from where. Still, it worked well in context. Visually, this film gave you practically everything you could ask for.

Then, there are the people. Linda is essentially a cipher. There's nothing to her, though I'm sure there's intended to be. Abby is a pushover for what she knows to be a bad idea. We see Bill's determination to . . . something. That part is a little less well defined. I suppose he's determined to be independent, but even if he gets his way, he'll be under Abby's control. I doubt he's thought that through. And Farmer wants to live and have a loving wife and stuff. But we don't have much sympathy, or at least [i]I[/i] don't have much sympathy, for what most of these people want. At the end, at the dramatic climax, I simply didn't care whether any of these people prospered or failed, lived or died. They just didn't interest me. Any of them. Sorry.

Film is a matter of taste. I know a lot of people will disagree with me a great deal. There seem to be a fair number of people who do get caught up in it. And maybe it'll be your thing. It assuredly is not mine.