I really like Ed Norton, and I was interested to see if he could pull off the cowboy role. He really did. He didn't need any latitude from the truth behind his character, he would have fit in with Clint Eastwood in the 1970s. Ms. Wood is luminous - she's pretty much the focus of the cinematography, and for good reason. The romance between the two leads is sweet and powerful. David Morse is really, really good as the step dad.
There are some production glitches - Norton's facial hair changes from full goatee to clean shaven to stubble and back overnight. There's a low-budget feel, and I didn't buy the sequence in the middle of a film shoot. It felt contrived.
So, is there room in Southern California for a real, rootin' tootin' cowboy? Of course not. So what do you do about it? I didn't get any real answers. If the point is the delusion, "King of Comedy" presented the deluded in a compelling way. In this one, the delusion isn't enough by itself. If the point is the doomed outlaw romance, "Badlands" really dominates. I thought Malick had more budget to work with, but that's not the case, even inflation adjusted. Malick just had more story to work with.
I give it points for having a theme, but it's not really well done. But the performances are amazing.
There are some production glitches - Norton's facial hair changes from full goatee to clean shaven to stubble and back overnight. There's a low-budget feel, and I didn't buy the sequence in the middle of a film shoot. It felt contrived.
So, is there room in Southern California for a real, rootin' tootin' cowboy? Of course not. So what do you do about it? I didn't get any real answers. If the point is the delusion, "King of Comedy" presented the deluded in a compelling way. In this one, the delusion isn't enough by itself. If the point is the doomed outlaw romance, "Badlands" really dominates. I thought Malick had more budget to work with, but that's not the case, even inflation adjusted. Malick just had more story to work with.
I give it points for having a theme, but it's not really well done. But the performances are amazing.