Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)

Rating: 4/5

The first time I saw a trailer for Ain't Them Bodies Saints, it stood out as something I really couldn't wait to review, and one thing about the trailer struck me in particular: the heart-breakingly tender voice of its male protagonist, played by Casey Affleck. When dear old Roger Ebert reviewed Vincent Gallo's infamous The Brown Bunny, he commented on Gallo's 'pleading tone of voice not one actor in a hundred would have the nerve to imitate.' I remembered this quote as I heard Affleck speak, and have to say, he may be the one out of the hundred.

Opening with an ornate title card that simply reads 'This was in Texas...' we are introduced to our tragic young lovers Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie. In a breezy, sunbathed field, they argue, with Bob retorting each time almost with fondness, and certainly with patience. She is pregnant, and he is over the moon. Next thing we know, the lovers are caught up in a shoot-out with the police, and Ruth shoots a cop. Bob gives himself up, while demanding Ruth makes a run for it, and for a while their correspondences are reduced to brown paper and pencils.

Their daughter Sylvie is born and several years pass, during which time Ruth is supported by old man Skerritt (Keith Carradine) and becomes close friends with the cop she shot. But Bob's letters maintain that he will come for his wife and child. So, of course, he breaks out of prison, and starts on his mission to get back to his family. Bob's not a bad guy, but he's got places to be, and a preference for freedom. This combined with Skerritt's attempts to keep Ruth from harm lead to a lot of chasing, and gunshots captured so explosively your ears ring. Twice during the picture, Bob goes carjacking to get around, and these scenes were poignantly reminiscent of Patty Jenkins' masterpiece Monster (2003), in which Charlize Theron's character Lee desperately and despairingly hitches lifts and kills the drivers.

Ruth's character is given considerable attention, and she is wonderfully played by Rooney Mara.  She is a reserved person in terms of her feelings, and given her cavalier attitude towards her incarcerated lover around others, we as an audience as somewhat surprised to see her true emotions come out in the odd moment or letter. Her real self lies dormant, as she secretly longs and waits for Bob to come home, although she understands fully how impossible it really is. She is the most incredible mother, singing her little girl songs, reading her books and telling stories of how her pappy would "wrestle down bears and bop 'em on the nose!" The moments between Ruth and Sylvie are very touching.

The screenplay by director David Lowrey is fantastically crafted. I particularly enjoyed Bob's several monologues, in which he fondly remembers arguing with Ruth, of all things. Casey Affleck's performance is truly captivating, and that beautiful voice, which heightens in pitch and breaks at the end of each sentence, is a smartly-used tool which adds to the character's tangibility. Lesser actors may not have evoked such particulars. The final thing that pleased me as the lights came up, is that the movie serves its purpose, and its audience well; its ends at a reasonable 97 minutes, with a satisfying ending, and cut to title card that felt like shutting a book. No needless dribble, or unneeded extended resolutions. It ends exactly when it should, and after an emotional ordeal for all the characters, I smiled as the credits rolled. What a miraculous feeling.