Days of Heaven

DAYS OF HEAVEN - Dec. 30, 2010
Terrence Malick is best known for making some seriously beautiful looking movies, and on that level Days of Heaven  does not disappoint. Seemingly filmed entirely at either dawn or dusk, the film has a strikingly ethereal look, with almost every frame suitable to be enlarged and framed on your wall. It is a very good looking movie.  As for the straightforward plot; it’s fine. It gets the job done, but it’s fairly clear that had this film been directed by a middle-of-the-road director with no flair for visuals, it would have been immediately forgotten. There’s really nothing about the story or about the characters that particularly stays with you for very long after the credits have rolled. It’s really more the mood and tone that Malick manages to sustain that gives this film its power.  I liked this movie, but I can’t help but think that I would have absolutely loved it had the story been even close to being on the same level as the direction/cinematography.  ***