OVP: Days of Heaven (1978)

Film: Days of Heaven (1978)

Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz

Director: Terrence Malick

Oscar History: 4 nominations/1 win (Best Sound, Cinematography*, Costume Design, Score)

Snap Judgment Ranking: 5/5 stars

As part of our month-long celebration of the 10th Anniversary of The Many Rantings of John, I am completing all of the remaining gaps in my Terrence Malick filmography (one of my favorite film directors) with what we're calling "Terry Tuesdays" throughout June.

One of the fascinating aspects of Terrence Malick's filmography, especially for me looking backward right now (I have seen virtually all of his recent work but until this month had never seen his first three pictures) is that by the time The New World and especially The Tree of Life had come around, there was very little plot in the films in a traditional sense.  Many actors have complained about this (perhaps the most vocal being Christopher Plummer), but it's one of the things I love about his movies.  They're gorgeous, but they're also very much mood portraits, about trying to capture a feeling or a belief or a meaning beyond what you'd normally get with a film.  Days of Heaven, Malick's second feature film, was not well-received by audiences in 1978 when it came out (it was not particularly successful, despite some critical praise and getting four Oscar nominations), but by Malick's standards the plot of this one is pretty structured, and provides a meaningful story in addition to breathtaking photography.

(Spoilers Ahead) Taking place in the 1910's, Bill (Gere), his girlfriend Abby (Adams), and his kid sister Linda (Manz) are on the run after Bill accidentally kills the steel mill foreman at his job.  They ride across the country on trains (with Abby pretending to be Bill's sister to prevent the gossip of them being unmarried but clearly having sex), and come across a man that is simply known as the Farmer (Shepard) in the movie, who is a wealthy man who runs a gigantic estate.  Initially they are just day laborers on his farm, but Bill soon learns that the Farmer is dying, and will only have about a year to live.  Eyeing an easier life for he & his makeshift family, Bill hatches a plot-he'll remain Abby's brother and convince her to marry the Farmer.  Then, when the Farmer dies, Abby will inherit the entire estate.  This works for a while-the Farmer loves & marries Abby, but the plan begins to work too well-Abby begins to fall for the Farmer, and he doesn't seem to be getting any sicker.  When the Farmer finds out about Bill & Abby's plan, he flies into a rage (during a locust swarm), and sets fire to his wheat fields.  This leads to a standoff between Bill & the Farmer which results in Bill killing him with a screwdriver.  Bill runs away with Abby & Linda, but is quickly caught and killed, with Abby inheriting the farm, though her boundless spirit continues, with both she and Linda eventually running off in opposite directions, continuing their lives as drifters.

Though the film has more plot than your average Malick film, as I said, it does feel like it's operating on a different plane.  The fact that the Farmer doesn't have a name should tell you something about it being a bit dreamy, but it works really well.  We get to see a disarming treatise about love & betrayal, with each person in the love triangle distinct enough in their imperfections without ever feeling like they're caricatures or behaving badly to advance the plot.  I thought the acting was uniformly good, particularly Shepard as the Farmer.  The lovers don't care to define him, and I think that works really well as we begin to test his limits & what he's capable of as the film shifts toward him bitterly resenting these people taking advantage of him in his "final" days.

The movie won four Oscar nominations, all of them warranted.  Ennio Morricone famously disliked working with Malick, but you can't argue with the results.  A recurrent theme that feels like it's capturing the beauty of the American spirit before it is forever altered by World War I is felt throughout the movie.  The sound work, period costumes, & Jack Fisk's daring outdoor design are also worthy (though Fisk sadly wasn't nominated), but with Days of Heaven, you think first-and-foremost about the cinematography.  I say this knowing it's a recent film viewing, but I cannot help but indulge in some hyperbole...Days of Heaven might be the most beautiful film ever made.  Malick famously uses natural light, which feels awash on the house in the middle of a giant field, giving us just scene-after-scene of oil paintings (it doesn't hurt that he cast Richard Gere at his most ravishing, looking every bit the Raphael-inpsired young god).  The scene with the locusts, which had to be filmed backward to get a realistic effect (this was before CGI was widely-used), has to be seen to be believed.  In an era where you seemingly cannot win Best Cinematography without a Best Picture nomination, I'm glad Oscar realized what they had on their hands and gave Nestor Almendros his richly-deserved statue.