Ain't Them Bodies Saints

IFC Films | Release Date: August 16, 2013

6.9	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 74 Ratings

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TVJerrySep 15, 2013

The story starts with Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in deep love and expecting a child. Almost immediately, he ends up in jail, then escapes several years later to return to his family. During it all, a cop (Ben Foster) pursues them both inThe story starts with Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in deep love and expecting a child. Almost immediately, he ends up in jail, then escapes several years later to return to his family. During it all, a cop (Ben Foster) pursues them both in different ways. To make such a simple narrative work takes good writing, performances and direction. Unfortunately, none of those are especially commendable here. To make matters worse, the pacing is too slow and the cinematography is moody, but flat. While this simple tragedy had potential to be involving, nothing about the production helped.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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ThegodfathersonAug 23, 2013

David Lowery is the equivalent of a Terrence Malick cover band. He has all the rhythms and notes, but none of the heart and soul. He’s selling nostalgia at the expense of originality. And for some, that might be just enough. But for me,David Lowery is the equivalent of a Terrence Malick cover band. He has all the rhythms and notes, but none of the heart and soul. He’s selling nostalgia at the expense of originality. And for some, that might be just enough. But for me, sitting through his aesthetically beguiling faux-Western, “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” merely left me craving an umpteenth look at “Badlands” and “Days of Heaven,” Malick films Lowery obviously suckled as intently as his mama’s breast. He does a superb job at paraphrasing both, from the hazy, dreamlike visuals to the long pauses and dialogue so muted that you often feel like you’re eavesdropping on a conversation in the next room. The characters are pure Malick, too: Young lovers, doomed by restlessness and ennui, running from the law as intently as they’re trying to flee from their consciences. And, just like “Heaven,” a love triangle with an ethereal woman conflicted by her romantic feelings for a good man and his evil-boy rival. Just replace Brooke Adams with Rooney Mara, Sam Shepard with Ben Foster and Richard Gere with Casey Affleck. Or, if you prefer the “Badlands” motif, swap out Mara for Sissy Spacek and Affleck for Martin Sheen. Either way, you come up short. It’s not that their performances are bad; it’s that these consistently fine actors are curiously miscast, beginning with Affleck, who’s too soft-spoken and non-threatening to be taken seriously as a hardened criminal. That’s more Foster’s purview, as he proved so indelibly on “Six Feet Under” and in “310 to Yuma.” As a heroic, big-hearted deputy, he’s just not cutting it. As for Mara, I feared that she might fall asleep at any minute. She certainly doesn’t communicate what it is that drives Affleck’s Bob and Foster’s Will to chase after her Ruth so intently.
It’s not that their performances are bad; it’s that these consistently fine actors are curiously miscast, beginning with Affleck, who’s too soft-spoken and non-threatening to be taken seriously as a hardened criminal. That’s more Foster’s purview, as he proved so indelibly on “Six Feet Under” and in “310 to Yuma.” As a heroic, big-hearted deputy, he’s just not cutting it. As for Mara, I feared that she might fall asleep at any minute. She certainly doesn’t communicate what it is that drives Affleck’s Bob and Foster’s Will to chase after her Ruth so intently. As for the plot, there really isn’t one beyond Bob breaking out of prison (off camera, no doubt due to the expense of shooting such a scene) and taking it on the lam in search of his beloved Ruth and their soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter, Sylvie, whom he has never met. Standing in his way, are three squinty-eyed bounty hunters, Ruth’s father-figure neighbor (Keith Carradine doing his best work in years) and a host of sheriff’s deputies, including Will, who persistently attempts to insinuate himself into the lives of Ruth and her daughter. Beyond that, nothing much happens. But given Lowery’s passion for Malick-esque visuals, it’s hardly a shock that his script is so bare-boned and derivative.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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BrianMcCriticDec 21, 2013

The film is well made and well acted, but it's just to slow to recommend. The pace of this film makes it real hard to get emotionally invested in any of the characters. C

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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arrivistAug 25, 2021

This film is like trying to light a fire with damp logs. Sometimes it catches alight, before dying out again. It doesn't help that nearly every shot is underexposed, with poor sound combined with whispering and mumbling, making the dialogueThis film is like trying to light a fire with damp logs. Sometimes it catches alight, before dying out again. It doesn't help that nearly every shot is underexposed, with poor sound combined with whispering and mumbling, making the dialogue (much of which sounds like actors reading high school poetry) inaudible. Rooney Mara has the charisma of a wet fart and Ben Foster plays the stoney faced, grunting, good 'ol boy yet again.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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