The opening shots of Ain't them Bodies Saints show a man and a woman arguing in the middle of a rugged desert landscape, somewhere in Texas. Ruth (Rooney Mara) is upset with Bob, and she begins walking away from him, quietly whispering "I don't want to go to jail." Bob (Casey Affleck) stands back for a second, collects his breath, catches up to her, and whispers back a few words of consolation. She repents, and they embrace as she lets him know that they're going to have a child together. The movie cuts to the couple, peacefully resting in their car as Bob caresses the belly of his pregnant wife. The prospect of a bright future thrills them both. He gets out of the car, and things take a turn for the worst.
The details of Bob's crime are left intentionally muddy. The film is not particularly interested in presenting a neat plot, or of focusing on the action. Instead, audiences are left to their own devices to actively think about what's going on. The ambiguous, sparse storytelling, which focuses on quieter moments, lends an aura of solemnity and dread to every scene of the movie.
The story feels like it could be the climax (or rather, anticlimax) of another tale. Soon, although its not clear how, Ruth and Bob find themselves in a gunfight against the police. I immediately thought of Badlands and Butch Cassidy. Both are films which end with a couple of criminals facing off against the authorities, and both great films to which Ain't them Bodies Saints compares favorably. The protagonists of those films die for their crimes; Bob and Ruth seem to be going the same way, but their story has just begun.
During the shootout Ruth injures a police officer. Bob decides they have had enough and taking the blame for the crime is sentenced to 25 years in prison while his wife remains free to raise their child. Here, the film enters a magnificent segment which intercuts Bob's elegiac letters to his beloved wife, promising a magnificent reunion, with scenes of her giving birth and raising their daughter.
Rooney Mara, giving yet another breathtaking performance, exudes a maternal warmth in the scenes with her on-screen daughter that gives the illusion of hope for her little, fragmented family unit. She kindly and patiently waits for Bob, all the while collecting his letters as treasures. The illusion, however, is broken, as she is told her husband escaped from jail. With one painful glance at the camera Mara lets the audience know that Ruth has given up the pretense of a peaceful resolution to her troubles, but she trudges along as best she can, putting up a strong front for her now four year old daughter.
Meanwhile, Bob takes a circuitous path back home, coming across some dangerous criminals along the way, who, according to Skerritt, Bob's criminal mentor (and silent guardian of his wife and child), would like to see him dead. Skerritt meets Bob and warns him to stay away from Ruth who seemed to have her life in order, at least until the moment of Bob's arrival back in town (about which she finds out through another of his letters). But Bob, after years of idealizing his eventual encounter with his wife, cannot obey.
All strands of the story come together in a beautiful, heartbreaking conclusion that sees Bob's wishes fulfilled. It is a near-perfect ending to a near-perfect film.
Verdict- 3.5/4
Ain't them Bodies Saints (2013) 1h 36min. R
Random Thoughts:
- The movie reminded me of Upstream Color, another movie about a doomed romance. Incidentally, David Lowery, who directed Ain't them Bodies Saints, was the editor of Upstream Color.
- This is one great looking film. On par with the work of Terrence Malick who directed Badlands.
- Keith Carradine, who plays Skerritt, warns Bob not to return home, but he did not say it in thunder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmYdYti-obg
