"Ain't Them Bodies Saints" (2013)

If Bonnie and Clyde weren't a romanticized vision of outlaws, it might look something like Ain't Them Bodies Saints. The writers and director (Both David Lowery) aren't the ones doing the romanticizing here, it's the characters themselves who keep telling themselves stories about the greatness of their crimes and their status. Bob (Casey Affleck) is constantly telling Ruth (Rooney Mara) about their future; he's mythologizing before there's anything to be mythologized about and he's draws her into a life of reckless criminality. Ruth hasn't completely bought into Bob's way with words or his swagger. We first see her stubborn and strong-willed, trying to walk away from the whole relationship. She's pregnant though and so she gets drawn into the outlaw lifestyle. The film moves past this quickly. Their outlaw career goes south fast and Bob convinces Ruth to feign taking part in the robbery under duress. Bob gets a five year to life sentence and though he writes letters to Ruth touting how wonderful their life will be once he's freed, we can tell things have changed. The beauty of Ain't Them Bodies Saints is its sly reinterpretation of so many crime movies. "This happened in Texas," the film dryly informs us at the start of the film. The film is mocking the taglines of so many movies claiming they're based on a true story. This isn't a trumped up tale; matter of factly things happen -- told in a clipped, elliptical style -- and they happen realistically, tragically and painfully. Bradford Young's cinematography acknowledges the disconnect between Bob's perception of events and reality. Gorgeous, naturalistic imagery -- reminiscent of Terrence Malick -- with an understated pastel design is used throughout the film. The film looks romantic even as its story is romantic only to the couple yearning for things to be as easy and simple as they imagined when they made a pact to start a new life with each other.

Grade: 3.5/4★★★