User Reviews

Caught this at Sundance where the buzz surrounding it was pretty high. Did it live up to the hype? Yes and No.

As almost every reviewer has noted, it is a return to the Terrance Malick/Robert Altman-style outlaw lovers films of the 70s. Lots of long lingering visuals of country places and lots of deeply-felt brooding by the main characters. Not bad for that kind of film, but frankly nothing to write home about.

The three leads are very good, as is Keith Carradine. The music and photography are great (though I think there is an over abundance of mid and close shots in a film that screams out for long deep focus photography). Yet, somehow, it doesn't quite jell. A lot of this could be due to its slow pace. Another element may be the reluctance of the writer/director to dole out plot points (you know, like when someone reads an important letter, but we don't find out what is inside until 15 minutes later).

All in all, it is fairly good for what it is. I am sure it will garner positive response from critics. Still, somehow the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

'AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara star in this romantic crime drama about young lovers who are also outlaws, in Texas, that's crime spree comes to an end when one of them is sent to prison. He then breaks out of prison, years later, and travels home to see his wife again and meet his daughter for the first time. The film was written and directed by David Lowery and also stars Ben Foster, Nate Parker and Keith Carradine. It's a routine story but it's beautifully shot and the acting is all more than decent.

Affleck plays Bob Muldoon and Mara plays Ruth Guthrie, they're outlaws in Texas who run into trouble on their latest heist and Guthrie shoots and wounds a police officer named Patrick Wheeler (Foster). Muldoon takes credit for the shooting and Guthrie claims to not have been involved in any of their crimes, so Muldoon goes to prison as Guthrie has their child. He later escapes, multiple years later, and travels home to see his wife again and meet his daughter. As he returns he finds the police waiting for him and Wheeler is now romantically interested in his wife.

The movie seems inspired by classic 'young love and crime' films like 'BADLANDS' and even 'BONNIE AND CLYDE' but it isn't nearly as memorable as the movies it's trying to emulate. Lowery is a talented director though and (like I said) the acting is great and the cinematography (by Bradford Young) is beautiful. Affleck and Mara are well cast as the young lover outlaws but their talent (along with Foster, Carradine and most of the rest) deserves a lot better than this script. There's just nothing to it. The film looks good enough to make it worthwhile though and that title is classic (Affleck says it doesn't mean anything but is just Lowery's misinterpretation of the lyrics to a song). It's style over substance filmmaking but it's gorgeous all the same.

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Enjoyed "Ain't Them Bodies Saints". Good story which needs some touching up, but the acting is first rate. It is a character study, a study in melancholy told in real, human terms and not in movie terms. And maybe that is its only flaw, that truth be told, real life is less dramatic and more grimy than make-believe. Briefly, he is a crook, she is his wife/girl (it's not explained) and the two are caught in a shoot-out with police. She fires a gun wildly out a window and accidentally hits a policeman. He takes the rap, goes to jail, she has a baby and waits for him to come back.

The nominal star, at least when the movie credits rolled, is Casey Affleck, but the real star is Rooney Mara, who is excellent as the single mom waiting for Affleck. It is an earthy, sensitive portrayal of a distrustful woman on the defensive. She has made great strides since "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", a one-dimensional performance. The raw-boned Affleck plays tougher than he looks and underplays his role here. Keith Carradine was a surprise in a strong supporting role.

In my opinion the picture could use two things; tightening up and punching up. There are some dead spots throughout and the film seems longer than 105 minutes, although, as I said, real life is not always supercharged. But there must be a middle ground or else the narrative becomes sluggish. Also, no explanation was given for the 3 strangers in town. Were they Magi? The Three Stooges? We are left to wonder, and director Lowery should have given us more information in this instance.

It is very worth seeing and brightens a dreary summer full of sequels and explosion movies. If you are seeking respite from the likes of "Smurfs 2", go see this one. It's for grown ups.

What is it about the Deep South that's so evocative in cinema? Maybe it's the timelessness. Ain't Them Bodies Saints could be set at any time during the past forty years. The sun seems forever rising or setting in this region, and filmmakers can't help but point their lens in its direction, silhouetting their beautiful actors. Terrence Malick has a lot to answer for.

It's hard not to think of Malick's first film, Badlands, when watching this. The story concerns a couple of young Texan criminals, painfully in love. When Ruth (Rooney Mara) shoots policeman Patrick (Ben Foster), her lover Bob (Casey Affleck) takes the blame and goes to jail. Bob promises he'll come for Ruth, and duly escapes incarceration. Meanwhile, Patrick is making moves on Ruth, oblivious to her guilt. All of this is under the wise, watchful eye of Skerritt, played wonderfully by Keith Carradine. As Bob closes in on Ruth, the cops and the gangsters close in on Bob.

There are times during Ain't Them Bodies Saints when writer-director David Lowery's style and technique comes across as mimicry, of Malick and also of Jeff Nichols, as well as countless American movies from the 1970s. Thankfully, he also has an interesting story to tell, and it is one presented with rich textures. At times the film flows like a visual poem, with Bradford Young's evocative cinematography melding perfectly with Daniel Hart's stirring music. The effect is of something exquisitely handmade.

Affleck's mumbled delivery here exudes danger; he's mythologising himself in the same way he once mythologised Jesse James. Mara is sentimentalised as the angelic mother, but Lowery is wise enough to suggest that this comely vulnerability is an act also - a sophisticated defence against hard men secretly seeking softness.

Perhaps the film veers too closely at times toward stylish vagueness and too far from the broken heart of the story. But there is no denying this is a serious, authored work of art.

At his televised 80th birthday celebrations, the esteemed British director Sir David Lean had a message to young, budding film-makers: Listen to us; learn from us. Then do your own thing.

Debutant writer-director David Lowery has clearly been influenced by the American New Wave directors of the 1970s. And then done his own thing.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints follows the relationship of Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and his partner Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara). Besieged by local Police at an isolated farmhouse, the pregnant Ruth injures an officer in the shoot out. Bob Muldoon takes the rap for this crime and is incarcerated for a long stretch. Several years later, he affects an escape from the prison in which he is held and makes his way back to his home town in rural Texas.

There is very little back-story or explanation of events in this atmospheric film. This appeared to be a deliberate ploy by Lowery. Like the Curate's egg, it was good in parts . But ultimately it left too much of the plot inchoate: who were the three men hunting down Muldoon? Bounty hunters? Erstwhile partners in crime? We weren't privy to their motives and this detracted from the narrative. This was but one example. The very title of the film is also rather enigmatic and might lead some to believe the film is more bloodthirsty than it actually is.

Casey Affleck, who has enjoyed something of a patchy and sporadic acting career to date, is perfectly cast as Muldoon. As he showed in his Oscar-nominated performance in The Assassination of the Outlaw Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Affleck has a great ability to convey a threat of violence without displaying any physical intimidation. He does so again in this film exuding a latent and uneasy menace. Hopefully this role will prove a springboard for Affleck and give him some momentum – he has good screen presence.

There was also a strong performance from Rooney Mara and support from Ben Foster and Keith Carradine.

The cinematography was, on the whole, superb. Long linking shots in subdued colour gave a great feel for the small town Texan setting amidst arable farmland. The wonky camera shots for the close ups we can put down to current, hopefully soon obsolete, fashion.

And if the pacing was a little on the slow side at times, well David Lowery is still learning his craft.

This is a very promising debut from a rookie director. He is one to watch.

Deeply indebted to Terrence Malick's style. So much so, it never really becomes its own thing (unlike, say, Beasts of the Southern Wild, which had so much of its own energy Malick's name never popped up in my mind until long afterward). Fortunately, the performances in it are so good that it's quite worthwhile. Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara star as a couple who get caught up in criminal activities. The two are caught, Affleck goes to prison and Mara gets acquitted. She gives birth to their daughter, and the two live comfortably under the protection of Keith Carradine and, after a while, a police officer (Ben Foster) who harbors a crush on her. When the child is around 4, Affleck escapes from jail and goes looking for his old girlfriend. All four of the principle actors are fantastic. Mara, whose Oscar nominated performance in The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo is one of the few I've skipped in the last few years (I loathed the Swedish original), has blown me away between this and Side Effects. She is the real deal. Affleck unfortunately never became the huge star he deserved to be after The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (that was six years ago!). I really wish his brother Ben would've cast him instead of himself in his last two films (it's one of the reasons that, in my opinion, Gone Baby Gone remains Ben Affleck's best film as a director). Foster, too, deserves to be a bigger star, with Oscar caliber performances in The Messenger and 3:10 to Yuma. I wish the film were a bit more original, but the acting really does sell it.

David Lowery has constructed a beautiful, atmospheric, little indie film with this 1970's Texas crime melodrama. At every point where Lowery could have added Hollywood flourishes and gimmicks to make the film more commercial he refuses to do so. The result is a thin crime & punishment type plot that functions as a canvas for this tone poem about passion and tragedy. I don't know if I could say there's anything ultimately redemptive about these sad, doomed characters but perhaps it's enough to say that they possess a degree of humanity that makes us pity them for the choices they've made. This is another triumph for Rooney Mara who is excellent as a strong, young woman who desires a better life and a man who can't get it for her. There's great irony in the way events turn out for her and it's all totally believable. I was also impressed with Casey Affleck's performance as her lover and small time criminal. In supporting roles there's Nate Parker as a friend of Affleck; Ben Foster's sympathetic police officer and Keith Carradine soaring as a town elder and father figure to Rooney and Affleck. "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" is a great looking picture and Bradford Young deserves all the praise he has earned for his cinematography.

Ain't Them Saint Bodies

I liked the movie "A Ghost Story" by Director David Lowery, so I searched for another movie of his which was critically praised and I landed up seeing this movie "Ain't Them Saint Bodies" The movie is a take on Bonnie and Clyde style LOVE story of a couple Bob (Casey Affleck) and his pregnant partner Ruth (Rooney Mara) who gets involved in crime activities and are caught by police, with Bob taking the blame of shooting a cop Patrick (Ben Foster) and goes to prison and daily writes a LOVE-letter to Ruth asking her to wait for him. Ruth delivers a baby girl child, and after 4 years Bob escapes from prison to be with Ruth and his daughter - hoping to live a peaceful life. Will his wish fulfill forms the remaining story. The selection of the script by Sundance even before shooting started and premier at Sundance Film festival gave a boost to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival giving it critical acclaim. The leading pair Casey Afflect and Rooney Mara's chemistry is wonderful. Director David Lowery has his distinct style with slow pace, beautiful shots, blended background score and music, on the edge characters that leave something mysterious for audiences to dwell deep into their psyche. The back-drop of Texas terrain is beautifully captured by cinematographer Bradford Young . The plot moves deliberately with sequences that take the narrative forward. The laggardness of the dialogues and interactions could have been avoided to a certain extend to make script more tight knit. The best and the most touching dialogue of the movie is the first voice-over letter he writes to Ruth from prison - It is so beautiful and carries the essence of the whole movies in those words: "Every day I wake up thinking today's the day I'm gonna see you. And one of those days, it will be so. And then we can ride off to somewhere. Somewhere far away" and it goes on... It is a classic LOVE story of a out-law couple presented in an unusual new way by David Lowery's surreal sensibilities (obviously feels like under the influence of Terrence Mallick - of Days of Heaven fame) I would go with 6.75 out of 10 for this movie.

Well I expected more from this, but then again I usually expect more from things. This basic story, although somewhat cliché, is still good and might have worked if it had been told better. A lot of what takes place seems just to be a general overview of things lacking complexity and intercity, had there been better character development and an a more detailed plot-line, this would have been a good movie. The acting is standard, the characters are pretty flat and so there really isn't much opportunity to compliment or criticize the acting. The directing however is great, it is perhaps what really saves this movie, the slow placed, silent sequenced, coupled with fantastic shots of the rural Texas countryside add structure and really pull you into the story, something that the script sadly does not. In short, you''ll like this if you like minimalist, mood-setting, romanticized drama.

If I had seen this film outside of a film festival setting I probably would not have appreciated it as much. Fortunately, director David Lowery provided amazing insight into his thought process and artistic intent as he crafted this film.

His attempt to create a "classic" film, distinguishable for its details but otherwise typical of the star-crossed lovers genre, resulted in something so much more. The characters are much more complex and do not fit neatly into their traditional archetypes. The audience will feel conflicted throughout, growing partial to different characters and rooting for different outcomes at various junctures in the film. Character introspection and lengthy shots of the landscape definitely took priority over plot development. If the depth of the story matched the depth of the characters this would be a truly great film.

The performances are second-to-none and the film was expertly cast. The hand clapping percussion and fiddle gives the score a uniquely southern, soulful feel; anyone from Texas can attest, the combination of score and cinematography will let the audience know what small-town Texas feels like.

Lowery prefaced the film as a cinematic "folk song" and it totally had the feel of a Townes Van Zandt ballad. If the film-goer keeps the folk song description in mind they'll truly appreciate the film's nuances and enjoy the experience.

I'm on the fence with this one. I don't hate it quite so much as to give it one star, as I'm tempted to. The direction and photography feel like a year 10 high school project. True beauty is best captured inconspicuously on film, whereas Saints is obsessed with getting the perfect shot of shivering fir trees and fields of barley coated in gold at sunset - there's no nuance or subtlety to it. It appears ham fisted when the director is obviously choosing his shots carefully, but when he lets intuition guide him he manages to capture some great moments on film.

Like one scene where Rooney Mara's character leaves church, and the local sheriff gives her a tip of a hat outside in a short tracking shot to the tune of a quirky soundtrack - it's simple and effective. Most viewers won't even remember that tiny twenty second scene and are probably too busy salivating over Casey Affleck's felt hats and film student mise en scene.

That being said, while the photography is desperate to impress, the way scenes play out is more effective. The director has some idea of how to generate tension, but at times he flops. The opening action sequence is one example; boring, flat, over quickly. Though perhaps what success there is is more to the credit of the screenwriter than the director, it's hard to say.

Flaws to one side, there are several small, tender moments that elevate Saints. For example, the interactions between Rooney Mara's character and her daughter, which are, at times, heartwarming, and very natural. Ben Foster too, feels well-casted and is careful not to turn his small town sheriff character into a walking cliché. In fact, he did so well you barely noticed him at all. He blends perfectly into the background. Casey Affleck seemed to recycle his character from "The Killer Inside Me," but his performance was tolerable.

So, all in all, Saints makes a lot of swings for few runs, succeeding just enough to be an honourable mention. I understand this is one of the director's first works, so for a debut it is certainly noteworthy. If he can learn to stop grovelling at the feet of critics he may improve in the future.

I don't think this is a great film, merely a good one, but it's still one where your anticipation for the next thing the director does is heightened. The directing has a poetic, lyrical beauty to it. This may sound clichéd, but yes, it's very "Malick-y" at times. It's overall a very solid flick, with some strong performances. Mara, Foster, Carradine are all pretty good, but Casey Affleck stands out amongst them. Not a surprise perhaps, seeing as how I consider his performance in Jesse James to be the finest I've ever seen, but there's a raw naturality to how he carries his character. It's all incredibly realized from the inside, and he comes across with the most charisma.

If you help someone or take away the blame others would lay on them, wouldn't/couldn't that be considered a good thing? Then again can you take away a sin/crime that someone else committed and what does that make you then? One thing is for sure, if you really love someone, you will go some extra miles for certain.

The movie might not have many action scenes or be as dramatic as others, but it does tell a nice story, wonderfully portrayed and played by our actors. The relationships are pretty clear from the beginning, but that doesn't mean that there won't be issues within them. Those are nicely made and it all culminates in the only way it could .. the big bang, may be missing, but it's still a decent effort overall

An old fashioned feeling love story between a couple driven apart by a crime gone wrong in 1970s rural Texas. Casey Affleck is Bob Muldoon, the man who takes the heat for a botched job so his pregnant wife (Rooney Mara) can be free to raise their future child.

Writing letters from jail Muldoon dreams of the day he can return to his wife and kid and a prison break gives him the chance but will she still want him?

It may not win many prizes for originality but is a deftly written film, beautifully shot and with solid performances from all concerned. The real highlight is the score by composer Daniel Hart, a haunting, stunning mix of folk and bluegrass which serves the film well.

David Lowery's cool sophomore feature, "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," resurrects the bad old days of outlaw love that has been portrayed in such seminal cinematic classics like Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" and, most notably, Terrence Malick's "Badlands." Unlike those films, though, Lowery concerns himself less with the crimes that his Romeo and Juliet commit, instead focusing on the fallout.

On a summer evening in the 1970s, lovers Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and Ruth Guthrie (the porcelain-dainty Rooney Mara) find their Midwestern crime spree has ended with them holed up in a farmhouse, as armed deputies gather outside. They exchange shots, with Ruth shooting one of the encroaching officers. Rather than seeing their love story end with them being gunned down in a bloody shoot-out with police, Bob surrenders, not wanting his pregnant love to die. The two are led away from the scene in cuffs, with Bob taking the full weight of their crimes and being sent to prison.

Four years later, Ruth has given birth to a daughter and tries to live a normal, peaceful life. She even finds herself the interest of police officer Patrick Wheeler (Ben Foster), who, in a capricious turn of fate, turns out to be the same cop Ruth shot. Whether it be because of genuine fascination or just being a Good Samaritan, Patrick finds himself sliding into the position Bob had vacated. And one day, Patrick ends up giving Ruth a heads-up: Bob has broken out of prison, and the authorities are certain he's on his way back to Ruth.

Bob has spent in years in stir desperate to reconnect with his family, promising in his many letters to Ruth that he will return to her. We follow his journey across state lines, carjacking a helpless woman and hopping a train in order to reach his destination. He seeks shelter with his adoptive father (a splendid Keith Carradine), all the while certain that love will conquer all and that everything will be "the way it was." Unfortunately, Bob's worldview is a naive one, because even though Ruth still pines for her erstwhile lover, motherhood has altered her focus. Of course, Patrick's omnipresence in her life is another complication that will, we know, present further problems.

"Ain't Them Bodies Saints" does not tread over any new ground, but it more than makes up for it in terms of its mood. It inevitably invites comparison to the aforementioned Malick's debut film, especially with its hauntingly ethereal cinematography (almost every shot looks like a painting, poetically halcyon yet brimming with a fresh energy). Despite being a very simple story, it has a larger, more timeless feel, aided by the perpetual magic-hour vistas and the ponderings of the main characters (Mara and Affleck's dreamy voiceovers lovingly add to the poignancy Lowery's film already presents in spades).

While Bradford Young's elegant cinematography is certainly one of Saints's most striking attributes (he did win an award for it at Sundance earlier this year), the performances are what truly enthrall. Casey Affleck, in a role that is almost a complete 180 from his breakout turn as another Bob (the coward Robert Ford), provides a raw and unexpected masculinity. Rooney Mara—an actress who is normally glacial, as seen in her work in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Side Effects"—gives a heart-piercing turn as a woman who must choose parental responsibility over her heart's desire. And Ben Foster, whose chief stock in trade is unbridled intensity, plays it broodingly low-key, in a welcome performance reminiscent of Sam Shepard's subdued, tender work in another Malick joint, "Days of Heaven."

Unlike its predecessors, the romance in Lowery's film doesn't die in a hail of lead or from execution in the electric chair. It dies because of time, distance, and the natural progression of life. It is something all of us can relate to, in some shape or form. "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" manages to keep its emotional heft feather-light, rather than acting as a millstone. It's a talent that makes me very keen to see what Lowery's got down the pike. And although this film has a Malickian feel, it still feels very distinct in itself. It's an exciting experience, to be sure.

Greetings again from the darkness. Finally catching up with this one after it received such critical raves on the festival circuit last year. It's one of those films that cause so many "normal" movie goers to question the tastes of critics. It certainly has the look and feel of a terrific independent art-house film, but as they say, looks can be deceiving.

The cast is outstanding and play off each other and the setting exceedingly well. Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Ben Foster and Keith Carradine are a pleasure to watch ... they make it easy to KNOW these characters. Daniel Hart's score is the perfect balance of haunting and complimentary - understated at its best. The most exceptional thing of all is the cinematography of Bradford Young. The look of the film is right there with the best of Terrence Malick ... and that amplifies the film's biggest problem. The story is highly recollective of Malick's Badlands, and that's where the shortcomings jump out. There is just not much substance to this story.

Writer/director David Lowery is a definite talent, but his dependency on look and feel prevent this one from reaching greatness. We recognize immediately that this can't end well. The only question is how badly will it get for each of the main characters. Crime may not pay, but some criminals just seem to keep paying ... and drag down others with them. For those that enjoy the indies, this is one to catch up with ... and filmmaker David Lowery's best work is still ahead of him.

Affleck plays Bob, a petty criminal who gets sent to prison and later escapes jail to go look for his woman and child while being chased by the law and a couple of thugs for no reason explained. The film is one gigantic drag without purpose or meaning or even a hint at the most basic of plots.

Though sporting an impressive cast, the overall feeling one gets watching the movie is that of one big cloying mess written by someone who didn't have a clue how to fill in the second act with something meaningful or otherwise entertaining. Besides, it has all been done before. It plods and then plods some more..

Writer/director David Lowery has gathered a superb cast of actor to explore a rather simple story, a cinematic folksong in the western sense (the film is set in the 1970s but could easily be timeless so far reaching are the themes): quite simply it is the tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met.

Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and his wife/girlfriend Ruthie Guthrie (Rooney Mara) and their kin Freddy (Kentucker Audley) have been 'raised' by a man named Skerritt (Keith Carradine) and are bank robbers. In their latest attempt Freddy is killed and Ruthie shoots at and wounds Sheriff Patrick Wheeler (Ben Foster), but to protect his pregnant wife Bob takes the blame and is sent to prison for four years. Bob writes Ruth daily and longs to be reunited with her and their new daughter Sylvie and escapes the prison by cajoling a guard. Escaping means walking and hitchhiking with a young lad named Will (another impressive turn for Rami Malek). Bob finds a Gilead with Sweetie (Nate Parker) but is determined despite the odds to walk his way back to Ruthie as he had promised. Ruthie meanwhile is making do, raising Sylvie on her own, has been given a house by Skerritt, and is courted by the Sheriff she shot (he does not know that the shooter was Ruthie). There is as much silence in the film as there is dialogue, the characters meditating on the fragility of love and the sense of unpredictable fate. The ending is deeply moving.

Bradford Young provides the hypnotic cinematography, allowing the story to unfold gradually (if a bit too long under Lowery's direction). The performances are all memorable, but it is that of Rooney Mara who likely will be in the running for awards. But foremost it is the concept and the technique of cinematic experimental excellence that makes this film a jewel, the work of an important new artist in David Lowery.

Grady Harp

A man sent to jail for a robbery escapes and tries to find his girlfriend and the young daughter he has never met.

Ain't them Bodies Saints is a character driven rather than story driven film and therefore it will not appeal to everyone. It is rather slow at times and may take further viewings to fully appreciate it. Nonetheless the acting is superb from Casy Affleck (Bob), Rooney Mara (Ruth) and Ben Foster (Patrick). The cinematography is great and there is a nice feel about the film.

On the downside it doesn't tell you much about Bob's past which makes the hostility towards him a bit confusing. At times it's a bit dark to see what is going on which makes it hard to follow at times. I felt the ending was a little rushed and disappointing.

This is a well acted and enjoyable film if maybe too slow for mass appreciation.

Ruth and Bob are a pair of criminal lovers with a baby on the way. After they find themselves in a shoot-out with the police, Bob faces a sever prison sentence. Unable to wait any longer, Bob breaks out of prison and heads across Texas to be re-united with his wife and meet his daughter.

The film starts out strong. Casey Affleck gives one of his best performances. Rooney Mara is a little better than she's been in the past. As the film begins, there is a sense the film is going to be part Coen Brothers, part Terrence Malick. But as the film progresses, it begins to go downhill, following a path too familiar. The most surprising part about the film is how stupid Casey Affleck's character, Bob, is. Instead of having any sympathy for him, we grow to dislike this character. Having a dislike or hate for a main character in a comedy can work but for a dead serious dramatic art film, it makes it even harder to watch. It's already a crime thriller without any thrills.

David Lowery is, like way too many other film festival award-winning filmmakers, greatly inspired by Terrence Malick. This is not such a bad thing, Malick is a master and we need more filmmakers like him. But when it's overly obvious the director is trying to be like Malick, it becomes a bad thing.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints is a film filled with beautiful images and music but it's story is unsuccessful in getting us to care about any of it's characters or any particular out-come of events. A story that makes us not care is a story questionable to bare through.