Wednesday, May 21, 2014

A Movie Review: Ain't Them Bodies Saints

Ain't Them Bodies Saints. This is a movie that takes place in Texas, probably in the 1970s. The movie starts with Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara), Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) getting ready to commit a crime along with a third individual.  (We also learn just slightly before this that Ruth is pregnant.)  A police chase occurs and the three are cornered in what we later learn is the abandoned house of Bob's father.  The third individual is killed in the gunfire.  Ruth fires randomly and hits a police officer.  Bob takes the blame.  Somehow Ruth evades having to go to prison while Bob ends up serving time.

The two still communicate, but Ruth has mixed feelings.  She now has a four year old child.  Her crime days are far behind her.  At the same time, she finds herself a tad bit attracted to the police officer that she shot.  Bob escapes from prison and so the movie focuses mainly on Bob's desire to re-unite with Ruth and her mixed feelings towards this potential reunion.

This movie is more poetic than storytelling.  At times, I had a hard time understanding what was being said.  In fact, I couldn't even figure out what Bob's last line was in the movie.  I watched this on DVR and tried to figure it out a number of times.  If you want an action/prison escape/intrigue movie, this isn't for you.  If you're looking for expressions of emotions such as uncertainty and desire, this is for you.  

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