Film: Badlands
Director: Terrence Malick
Country: USA
Released: October 1973
Runtime: 93 minutes
Genre: Road Movie
Studio: Warner Bros
Influenced: Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, Coen Brothers, Sofia Coppola, Harmony Korine
Badlands traces its conception back to the late 1960s when Terrence Malick, a philosophy student turned filmmaker, began developing the idea of a movie based on Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate's notorious murder spree. Drawing on the raw elements of American crime and the emotional detachment of the criminals, Malick aimed to create a cinematic journey that was at once an exploration of young love, social disillusionment and the darker aspects of the American dream. Badlands marked the beginning of Malick's auteur status in cinema, the point at which his distinctive filmmaking style and thematic concerns began to take shape, and the film's unique blend of true crime, road movie and romantic love story was hugely influential on a new generation of filmmakers.
What's so unique about Malick's directorial style is apparent right from his first film. There's the natural lighting, lending the shots of the wilderness a dreamy and ethereal quality, as well as the clever use of the camera to convey meaning and emotion (he often shoots characters from behind to show their solitude) and the use of voiceover narration and subjective camerawork to help us see the world from the perspective of the film's characters. In Badlands, Malick's cinematography contrasts the brutal actions of his characters with beautiful, serene landscapes – scenes of violence are intercut with tranquil shots of nature, creating an unsettling yet visually stunning contrast.
Badlands is set in 1950s South Dakota and Montana, home to the film's narrator, a 15-year-old girl named Holly Sargis (played by Sissy Spacek). Holly, who's sweet, naïve and largely misunderstood by her father, meets a 25-year-old garbage collector named Kit Carruthers (Martin Sheen). Kit is charismatic yet emotionally distant, resembling James Dean both in appearance and restless spirit. The two quickly become enamoured with each other, and Kit, dissatisfied with his place in life, convinces Holly to run away with him. Their idyllic relationship takes a dark turn when Holly's father (Warren Oates) disapproves of their relationship. Kit murders him, setting the pair on a violent crime spree across the Midwest. This act catapults the lovers into their life on the run and marks Kit's cold-blooded transformation into a killer.
As they flee, leaving a trail of crimes in their wake, the pair build a makeshift home in the wilderness while evading the authorities. In these scenes, Malick captures the haunting beauty of the landscape, providing a stark contrast to the couple's escalating violence. The climax of the film involves a dramatic standoff between Kit and law enforcement. Despite the odds, Kit remains oddly composed, even charismatic, showcasing the disturbing charm that marks many of his actions throughout the film. On top of that, the dispassionate voiceover from Holly offers an unusually detached perspective on the violence. The performances of Sheen and Spacek were highly influential, with Sheen's charismatic sociopath serving as a precursor to similar characters in later cinema, and Spacek's dispassionate innocence capturing a unique portrait of young womanhood, showing the darker side of the American Dream and the consequences of social and emotional alienation.
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