I’ve added new trailer screen captures of Rooney Mara featured in her new film, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’ to the gallery.

Rating: 4/5

There’s something very familiar about David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. The writer-director himself might twitch few ears in recognition, after his most recent work, the largely unheralded duo of Lullaby and St. Nick, but in the bones of his latest, which played as part of Critic’s Week here, is the genetics of familiar art. There is almost certainly a major nod here to Badlands, as well as Thieves Like Us, and more generally speaking, Lowery seems intent on re-exploring the essence of that particular period of outlaw movies.

Saints begins with a shoot-out, involving Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara,) who are subsequently hauled away. Muldoon is arrested, but the pregnant Guthrie is let go, to live in a comfortable house in a small Texan town called Meridian looked after by the excellent Keith Carradine. We’re not furnished with details of the trigger event, until the narrative progresses significantly, being drip-fed tiny morsels that piece together bit by bit, with the script offering far more focus to the central relationship.

There’s certainly something of Malick in the way Lowery frames his story, which isn’t at all a bad thing, given how well the drenched visuals fit the emotional undercurrent of the film. It’s just a shame that Lowery couldn’t match his aesthetic convictions and maturity with a story-telling maturity, as his story is a little twee and there’s a jarring clash between an obviously serious agenda and sentimentality. As an art film, it still works very well, and both Mara and Affleck have enough to work with to offer strong performances, it’s just that the substance doesn’t quite marry up with the style in places.

The joy of the film is in the interplay between characters – the plot is rounded out by Ben Foster’s local cop – and the ambiguity that masks the nature of some of the key relationships, including a trio of bad guys who appear after a time as things roll inevitably towards another flashpoint, bringing just as inevitable action and tragedy. Lowery has made a Western of sorts, with lots of traditional flags, not all of which are dealt with completely successfully, I might add, but there is certainly pleasure in his poetic convictions.

It’s a shame the film wasn’t grittier – not for the want of obligatory violence, but because films like this haven’t been made since Badlands for a reason, and even the most traditional of genres evolve. But for its substance problems, the style is really a beautiful thing – Lowery is clearly enamoured with the Malick method, and his cinematographer – Bradford Young – offers a delirious and beautiful portrait of his vision.

This is certainly another of those gems hidden away in the sidebars of Cannes that deserves to be cherished by a wider audience – and thanks to the talent associated with the project, and the inevitable high profile, that will be the case.

Source: What Culture

I’ve added new event photos of Rooney Mara attends the photocall of ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’ at Espace Miramar during The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2013 in Cannes, France.

After seeing “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, we said in our review that it’s ”a wholly engrossing and impressive piece of work that the movie world will be talking about all year long.” Indeed, the chatter around the well-received film is likely to continue as it heads to the south of France next week to screen for international audiences and critics. And today we have some exclusive images from the movie, which is one of our 15 Most Anticipated Indie Films Of The Summer. Featuring a stellar cast including Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine and Nate Parker, the story follows an outlaw who escapes from prison to reunite with his wife and the daughter he’s never met. And that’s just part of the film, which we called “a searing, romantic crime drama and love story.” As these images suggest, it’s not only a great story, but it’s beautifully lensed as well. Here’s the film’s new synopsis.

Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara), an impassioned young outlaw couple on an extended crime spree, are finally apprehended by lawmen after a shootout in the Texas hills. Although Ruth wounds a local officer, Bob takes the blame. But four years later, Bob escapes from prison and sets out to find Ruth and their daughter, born during his incarceration. Set against the backdrop of 1970′s Texas Hill Country, first time director David Lowery paints a poetic picture, evoking the mythology of westerns and saturating the dramatic space with an aching sense of loss. Featuring powerful performances by Affleck and Mara as well as Ben Foster and Keith Carradine, AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS is a story of love, motherhood and searching for peace while faced with an unrelenting past.

Produced by Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman and Cassian Elwes, “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” will arrive in theaters via IFC Films on August 16th. It will play as part of the Critics’ Week section at Cannes and also hits BAMcinemaFest in New York City in June.

Source: Indie Wire

I’ve added new event photos of Rooney Mara along with the casts from Aint Them Bodies Saint pose for a portrait during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival at the Getty Images Portrait Studio at Village at the Lift on January 20, 2013 in Park City, Utah.

I’ve added new event photos of Rooney Mara attended the “Aint Them Bodies Saints” & Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes Premiere Red Carpet at Sundance Film Festival on January 18 and 20, 2013.

After a busy week, you’ll excuse Rooney Mara‘s agents if they turn off their cell phones and have a much earned nap. In the last few days the actress has signed on to replace Carey Mulligan in Spike Jonze’s upcoming film, and taken a lead role in the upcoming adaptation of Colm Toibin‘s “Brooklyn.” And now to close off the week, she’s landed another gig that will see her star opposite two of our favorite actors.

Deadline reports that Mara will join Ben Foster and Casey Affleck in “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.” Set to be written and directed by David Lowery, the project was part of last summer’s Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit at Sundance, and it boasts a pretty great premise. Set in the 1970s, the film tells the story of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas countryside to reunite with his wife and the daughter he never met. On his journey the past begins to catch up with him.

Lowery made an impression on the festival circuit last year with his short film “Pioneer” (trailer below) which won the 2011 Grand Jury Award at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. And clearly, he has cooked up something compelling here to attract such a cast. No word yet on when lensing might take place not only because of Mara’s packed schedule, but also due to the fact that financing is still being lined up. But with that cast, financiers shouldn’t be too hard to find. Fun fact: Toby Hallbrooks, one of the producers on the film, was once a member of The Polyphonic Spree.

 

Source: Indie Wire