A bleak film, but a very engaging one. I immediately saw the influence this film had on Quentin Tarantino and Tony Scott, it being an obvious inspiration for True Romance in terms of narration (Patricia Arquette even sounds just like Sissy Spacek) and the fantastic atmospheric xylophone based score that pervades both films. The stark Colorado backdrop lends itself perfectly to the journey of the characters and seems to mirror their almost desolate sense of being. Martin Sheen was perfectly cast as Kit: taciturn yet charming, reckless yet controlled, cool yet a killer. It is Spacek’s apathy to the killings – particularly of her father – that is chillingly disturbing as she too puts in an excellent performance. Written, directed and produced by Terence Malick, this is a very impressive debut suggesting a very promising career to come, but one that I can’t help but feel has gone unfulfilled, him having only released 4 films since this in 1973.
***½
***½