Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara directed by David Lowery.
The film has the potential of being gut wrenching, but somehow in one hour and a half the difficult story become diluted, cut and edited into a simple account of facts, very predictable facts at that.
In the ambient that vibes of classic south the crime-crossed love between Bob and Ruth is implied, understood because the dialogues say so. We don’t really understand why and how they love each other, the first true act of love that is Bob taking responsibility for Ruth’s shooting a police officer is also the last tangible one.
Disturbing is the fact that maybe this is a story of unrequited love and betrayal, though it’s not clear.
The end is too obvious.
All is pretty nonetheless: beautiful scenery, a close-to-perfetct cinematography and top of the line acting, especially from an urecognizable Ben Foster as “the good guy“. Harsh but easy to watch makes for a promising first full length feature for Lowery.
The film debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Cinematography Award in the U.S. Dramatic Category and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Also appreciated during the International Critics’ Week section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film has received mostly positive reviews, currently holding an 81% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
