The second film by Terrence Malick, 1978’s Days of Heaven starring a fresh faced Richard Gere, years before the gerbil story ever surfaced, (https://www.liveabout.com/that-thing-with-richard-gere-and-the-gerbil-3299049) and Brooke Linz as a loved up couple, set against the backdrop of the early 1900’s. It deals with a young farmhand named Bill (Gere) on the run after he flees Chicago with his girlfriend, Abby and his young sister, Linda, after his involvement in his bosses murder at his previous job, as they try to make ends meet.
The story sees the trio journey from Chicago to Texas where they are taken on as part of the workforce, it is here in the deep south, where the majority of the movie takes place. The cinematography, is again amazing, a mainstay feature in Malick’s later films and often the selling point of them, (see, Song To Song) but here it is more subdued. Focusing on an insect balancing on a grain of wheat or using a flock of birds as a transition is really what sets it apart from other films of the era. The setting isn't like a character in the movie but is definitely one of the film’s strongest assets. The story here, unlike 2015’s Knight of Cups isn't aimless close ups of beautiful people fawning over each other, like an off brand Dolce & Gabbana advert, instead since Malick is working from an actual script that has a beginning, middle and end, it works far better as an example of his talents. Not to say the film is not without faults, sometimes Gere’s line delivery is a bit iffy and Sam Shepard’s farm owner, and Abby's future husband isn't a very convincing shut in.
Despite this, the unsurprisingly violent third act excels in all departments, the hero tragically dies and the other characters are left to their own devices, Abby puts Linda in a boarding school and she joins a train headed for the frontline of WW1. Malicks endings often linger, making the audience ponder what they've just witnessed. I’d say this movie will be making me think for a long time.
