Review of Days of Heaven (1978) by Adam Z — 19 Jun 2008

Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven is a slow-burning, but sensuous experience, and it's a visually stunning picture. Richard Gere and Brooke Adams play Bill and Abby, a young couple who pretend to be brother and sister, in an attempt to escape poverty in turn-of-the-century Chicago, they travel, with a girl named Linda (who also acts as the film's narrator) south and begin working hard labor on a Texas wheat farm. When the harvest is over the young, rich and handsome farmer (played well by Sam Shepard) invites them to stay because he has fallen in love with Abby. When Bill and Abby discover that the farmer is seriously ill and has only a year left to live they decide that Abby will accept his wedding proposal in order to make some money out of the situation. When the expected death fails to come, jealousy and impatience in Bill slowly sets in things take a turn for the worst.

Despite a short, 93 minute length, Malick squeezes every drop of emotion, sorrow out of every frame; which is filled with Nestor Almendros' gorgeous cinematography (which looks like the film was almost entirely shot at sunset), of which it's only crime is that it was shot in the 1.85:1 aspect and not the 2.35:1 ratio to capture and even fuller view. The performances here are all quite strong, and heavily rely on the "less is more" style of directing. Simply focusing more on body language, helps the cast communicate plenty with few words. I really enjoyed Days of Heaven, and would even say it's my favorite of Malick's films. It's not quite perfect, but it is hard to complain with what Malick lays out before you. Days of Heaven is a simple, but splendid picture.