Loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, in 1958, Badlands was the directorial debut of Terrence Malick as well as the first leading role for Martin Sheen in a feature film. Holly (Sissy Spacek), an impressionable and bored teen from a little town, falls for Kit (Martin Sheen), a guy ten years her senior who thinks of himself as a James Dean-like rebel. When the girls father (Warren Oates) tries to break them up, Kit kills him and the pair start a multi-state killing spree as they go on the run from the law. Told in dreamy voice-over by Holly, who describes the details of their adventure in romantic clichés, the couple seem unable to properly communicate as Kit is too obsessed with his new-found folk hero status and Holly too clueless and starved for attention to turn him away. Critically acclaimed yet unsuccessful at the box-office upon it initial release, the film already bore many of trademarks later associated with Malicks work, including the voice-over narration, sublime visuals and a highly lyrical tone. The film has since become somewhat of a cult classic and has taken its place amongst Malicks finest works. PS Quentin Tarantino was clearly heavily inspired by Badlands as he wrote 1993s True Romance, which also features romanticized voice-over narration of a couples violent journey from the female lead (including some nearly identical dialogue) and a musical theme, which is also virtually identical to the one used in Malicks film.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 14:06:20 +0000
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