Badlands (1973) // dir. Terrence Malick

Sheen and Spacek attempt to outrun the law in Malick's debut feature.

Inspired by the Starkweather-Fugate killings of the 50's, Badlands follows young lovers; Kit (Martin Sheen), a desensitised and reckless James Dean wannabe, and Holly (Sissy Spacek), an impressionable girl absorbed in the literary fantasies she constantly reads. After Kit's fatal shooting of Holly's disapproving father (Warren Oates), the couple flee into the surrounding South Dakotan badlands. With an increasing body count, the couple detach themselves from society and live a life of solitude until the inevitable final showdown. Badlands, on the surface, resembles a less savvy version of 1967's Bonnie and Clyde. But beneath the lovers on the lam exterior, it is a wholly different affair. In terms of plot and characters, Badlands is a very minimalist and simplistic film. The story, told almost exclusively by Spacek's voiceover, tends to float along at an even pace and seemingly keeps in tune with the deserted South Dakotan backdrop. The character development is similarly uncomplicated. Badlands boasts a cast of very few characters who (bar Kit and Holly) are elaborated upon very little, beyond inadvertently acting as accessories to Kit's nonsensical crimes. The performances are relatively emotionless; from their naive and often childlike relationship, to the added pathos of Spacek's fanzine-style commentary that glosses over the brutality of their crimes - it all adds to the theme of disconnectedness. But where Badlands truly outshines its 1967 counterpart, is through Malick's poetically visual style of filmmaking. The use of endless, panoramic horizon shots gives it a relaxed and dreamlike feel, whilst subsequently acting as a metaphor for Kit and Holly's isolation. However, for some, this may be seen as a weakness. Instead of the couple's crimes being dealt with so casually, sometimes you feel it might benefit from a bit more action, and a little less focus on the mise-en-scene - after all, it is based on a real life killing spree.

Badlands isn't just a pretentious Bonnie and Clyde rehash; it is artistic and evocative, and has definitely earned its understated, yet iconic status.