Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" is a simply beautiful and majestic film to look at. It also has a fantastic story, strong performances, and wonderful, mysterious music. However, despite these positives, there is one glaring flaw, for me, that prevents the film from becoming something greater: the pacing. No, it wasn't too slow, quite the opposite. The story felt rushed, and the film ultimately felt episodic, as if it was some kind of abridged version of a longer film.
In under an hour, Bill kills the man, he, Abby and Linda go to work in the fields, work ends, she marries the farmer, and suspicions are raised. I would have much rather had seen the film run at least two hours, preferably two and a half or even three, rather than a brief 93 minutes. It lacked the slow, lingering pace of Malick's future films, and, therefore, I was unable to really connect to any of the characters. Fortunately, the story itself is so strong that I was never bored, just rushed. The characters and the audience never had time to breathe and absorb the story or savor the magnificent imagery. So, in this regard, I was a little disappointed.
Nonetheless, it is, once again, a great story with good performances and awesome cinematography; it definitely deserved its Oscar win. I just would have liked for it to have taken its time more.
In under an hour, Bill kills the man, he, Abby and Linda go to work in the fields, work ends, she marries the farmer, and suspicions are raised. I would have much rather had seen the film run at least two hours, preferably two and a half or even three, rather than a brief 93 minutes. It lacked the slow, lingering pace of Malick's future films, and, therefore, I was unable to really connect to any of the characters. Fortunately, the story itself is so strong that I was never bored, just rushed. The characters and the audience never had time to breathe and absorb the story or savor the magnificent imagery. So, in this regard, I was a little disappointed.
Nonetheless, it is, once again, a great story with good performances and awesome cinematography; it definitely deserved its Oscar win. I just would have liked for it to have taken its time more.