Review – Badlands

Terrence Mallick transforms the Charles Starkweather murders into an oddly quiet and peaceful piece of cinema. Though fictionalized, the connections with the real crimes are obvious. Martin Sheen stars as the killer, and Sissy Spacek plays his half-accomplice girlfriend. The script and acting work quite well, painting a picture of two young, Midwestern people with few if any critical thinking skills and an eerie sense of emotional deadness. Set against Mallick’s strong visual sense of landscapes and the hauntingly un-dramatic soundtrack, the contrast between subject and presentation makes for an intriguing mix. Worth seeing