Badlands
Director: Terrence Malick
Year Released: 1973
Rating: 3.5
Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek go 'on the lam' after Sheen kills Spacek's father (the great Warren Oates) in Malick's first film, inspired by the notorious Starkweather murders. Builds slowly and carefully - the Sheen-Spacek relationship is less boyfriend-girlfriend and more brother-sister, Sheen doing most of the talking, Spacek along out of boredom, or perhaps she's merely enamored with him - to its final statement about the desire for fame and recognition. Sheen's had so many career-defining moments it's hard to dub this as being his best performance; Spacek's performance isn't as flashy, but you can see how her character matures as time passes and she becomes more comfortable around other people and with herself. Malick gave himself a nice cameo as a salesman-type who has a brief conversation with Sheen.
