Days of Heaven

Days of Heaven

13/9/1978 1h 34m 7.5/10

Overview

In 1916, a Chicago steel worker accidentally kills his supervisor and flees to the Texas panhandle with his girlfriend and little sister to work harvesting wheat in the fields of a stoic farmer.

Director

Terrence Malick

Top Billed Cast

Richard Gere

Richard Gere

Bill

Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard

The Farmer

Brooke Adams

Brooke Adams

Abby

Robert J. Wilke

Robert J. Wilke

The Farm Foreman

Linda Manz

Linda Manz

Linda

Jackie Shultis

Linda's Friend

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

6/18/2023

7/10

I wasn't ever really a fan of Richard Gere. Maybe it was just all that hair? Anyway, in this rather poignant story he is "Bill" who works in a smelter in Chicago whilst living with "Amy" (Brooke Adams) and his younger sister "Linda" (Linda Manz). He's not happy, and after the latest in a series of lively squabbles with his foreman, the three decide to quit the city and head to Texas where they find casual work on farm. As the season progresses, it soon becomes clear that the owner of the farm (Sam Shepard) has taken a bit of a shine to "Abby". He is poorly and "Bill" reckons that he isn't destined to be long for the world, so "Abby" agrees to marry him so that, in due course, they can inherit the whole shebang! Thing is, though, someone's been telling some fibs and the perhaps the farmer isn't quite so close to his sell-by date as many had been led to believe! Things only get murkier when we learn that "Bill" has a past - and that past is homing in on their new lives and threatening their triumvirate. It's gently narrated by "Linda" and the story from Terrence Malick is tightly packaged into a quickly paced ninety minutes of characterful, sometimes poignant, drama. Shepard gets the plaudits from me, his performance stands out but generally this is a decent ensemble effort that guides us through a story of avarice, loyalty and menace with aplomb. Gere still isn't great, but the film looks great and is certainly worth a watch.

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