Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)

A common complaint about many blockbuster movies in the Michael Bay era is they are so wall-to-wall chaotic that watching them becomes a numbing experience. In order for a movie to be engaging, there must be metaphorical peaks and valleys. Stuff can't just be happening all of the time. However, the other end of the spectrum doesn’t get nearly the same amount of criticism. Just as Transformers shouldn’t be a 150-minute sprint, smaller independent ventures like David Lowery’s new Ain’t Them Bodies Saints need to do something to generate forward momentum. Lowery has all the skills to be a great filmmaker, and his first feature showcases his great eye and his ability to perfectly capture the ’70s Texas setting. Except as of now, his faux-Malickian style only has this one gear. It’s a watchable gear, but just because you can play some pretty notes doesn’t mean you’re making music.

Early in the film, outlaw couple Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara) are cornered by police. After Ruth shoots and injures a police officer, Bob decides to surrender and take full responsibility. While Bob sits in jail, Ruth gives birth to their baby daughter and attempts to raise it on her own. Determined to meet his newborn child, Bob devises a scheme to break out of prison and run off with his loved ones. Needless to say, it doesn’t happen easily.

What hurts Ain’t Them Bodies Saints most is a crippling lack of dynamism. Lowery’s film doesn’t move along as much as it floats along, emphasizing atmosphere and beauty over just about everything. Not that it needs to be a plot machine—Terrence Malick, Lowery’s foremost influence, avoids incident at all cost—but it needs to have some larger idea or mission acting as a driving force. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints lacks that. Individual shots are gorgeous and effective, but Lowery doesn’t allow them to cohere with anything else. His IMDb page suggests he’s made many shorts before entering features, and I expect several of those are actually quite strong. It’s easier to get away with this when the film doesn’t last very long, but at feature length Lowery struggles to make a product that’s compelling as a whole.

I’m obviously in the minority on this one, as Ain’t Them Bodies Saints was a big hit at Sundance before getting widely positive reviews as it rolled out the past few weeks. I more or less understand why some seem to love it so much, but it didn’t offer quite enough in the narrative or substance department to truly sweep me off my feet. Lowery has as much potential as any first-time filmmaker in recent memory, and this film proves that while also exposing some flaws that may need to be fixed before he steps behind the camera again. I expect they will. The instincts are right. His technique just needs some ironing out.

Admittedly, superficial pleasures abound. Almost every frame of this film is gorgeous to look at, the performances are captivating across the board, and the musical score by Daniel Hart breathes life into a film that occasionally needs it. As empty as Ain’t Them Bodies Saints ultimately feels, it isn’t really a chore to watch. In fact, it’s often quite captivating. Mara is especially good at the center of the film, as all these dangerous forces start to swirl around her and control how she raises her daughter. None of the characters verbalize a lot, but they usually make the most out of the words they get. That’s the general feeling that Lowery is going for with his movie as a whole; he wants to tell the story with pictures rather than words. It’s not that he fails, but rather that he doesn’t quite succeed as frequently as he would like. All too often a sublimely beautiful moment is followed by a sequence that comes up well short.

Grade: B-