The Astounding Beauty of "Days of Heaven"

There's a farm. It seems to exist outside time and space. There's not a sign of civilization for miles and miles, just fields of wheat. The only people are the workers who work in the fields. It's a lonely, isolated existence with the only pleasure being the natural beauty of the surrounding. Migrant workers arrive for the harvest, amongst them Bill (Richard Gere), his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams), and his kid sister Linda (Linda Manz).

Linda serves as the narrator in Days of Heaven. She doesn't provide exposition though; she gives us flavor. She speaks as if reciting quickly scribbled down poetry (all in one of the thickest New York accents you'll ever hear). For the most part the film is not her story though. She observes, she comments, and she is affected, but the plot revolves mostly around her brother, his girlfriend, and the man who owns the farm.

Bill kills the boss in a factory he's working and is forced to flee. His quick temper will get him a number of problematic situations throughout the film. Writer-director Terrence Malick lets the film unfold with a languorous casualness. Occasionally it bursts into violence and destruction, but for the most part the film is content to provide a sense of place. There's some gorgeous cinematography by Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler -- which won an Oscar -- of the vast landscape (the film takes time for cutaway shots of plants, animals, etc. that provide the film with texture and atmosphere).

The film is a period piece set primarily in the late 19th century Texas panhandle. Industrialization is starting to take over, but the little, sleepy farm has yet to be fully integrated. Railroad tracks are laid out nearby but are rarely used. A car is used every now and again. There are a handful of mechanized tools. But otherwise this feels like a picturesque place; unspoiled, uncorrupted.

Bill tells everyone that Abby is his sister. Why he does this is never clear (perhaps because it's easier to keep her under his protection and control). Bill discovers the farm owner (Sam Shepard) is deathly ill and will pass within the year. He comes up with a scheme to take his money. The owner has an interest in Abby and Bill suggests she skid into these feelings; feelings, in time, she unexpectedly starts to feel back for him.

We're given a sense early on that none of this can end well. The first scene is of Bill arguing with his boss and then hitting him over the head with a led pipe. Violence is an inevitability. Ennio Morricone's score sounds like a chilling nightmare. There's a wistful, dream-like quality to it, but there's also a sense of underlying menace. Malick makes so much of the film have an innocence despite how cruel and vicious it often is. Part of this is the perspective of Linda, but it's also the naturalness of the film. Nature appears innocent and unassuming until it swallows you up. The characters are specks on this wide, sprawling plain.

Grade: A