Not only are the performances from Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek raw, but the cinematography creates a dream-like atmosphere that’s hard to parallel. The story is enveloped in warm tones and The Great Planes. The director, Terrence Malick says this of the production design, "Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything. I wanted the picture to set up like a fairy tale, outside time."

Try not to spoil it for yourself by looking up who it’s loosely based off of (Carli Fugate & Charles Starkweather); This lets you enjoy the story aimlessly, finding the simplistic nature of every scene. The plot of the movie is interesting enough, but the screenplay is what took me over completely.

I found myself rooting for both Kit and Holly, encompassing myself in their love and their lack of direction. I so desperately want them to both see therapists.

In reviewing films -- I’ve found myself searching for what often draws me away from one. It’s rarely the ratings, it’s rarely the plot, but it’s often my inherent idea that I have something better to do. If you too have this same mindset, I encourage you to just click play. It’s this impulsivity that will help you enjoy more & create more. 

Let yourself be taken away by something that was designed to do just that. Engage in an art form created by someone to create something inside of you.

Favorite Quotes: - “The world was like a faraway planet to which I could never return. Sometimes I wished I could fall asleep.. and be taken away to a magical land... but this never happened.”

- “What’s the man I’ll marry going to look like? What is he doing right this minute? Is he thinking about me now, by some coincidence even though he doesn’t know me? Does it show on his face?”

- “If I could sing a song about the way I feel right now, it’d be a hit.”

- “He said that if the devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun.”

P.S.’s - Carli Fugate currently resides in Michigan! - Martin Sheen commented in 1999 that Badlands "still is" the best script he had ever read

Rating: 9.7/10