Reclusive director Terrence Malick made his directorial debut with his 1973 film, Badlands. His main characters, Holly (Sissy Spacek) and Kit (Martin Sheen) are based on Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, the couple who went on a killing spree in 1958 which resulted in the deaths of 11 people.
(Spoilers below)
Kit is a drifter, taking odd jobs wherever he ends up in his travels. While working as a “trash thrower” in South Dakota he meets Holly, a young woman who has caught his eye. Holly is 15; Kit is 25. Kit likes Holly because, as Holly tells us, she acts like an adult and is not “giggly.”
Much of the film is set outdoors. Malick shoots the landscapes much like a photographer would, filling his shots with scenes of nature, vast stretches of land and sunshine. Nature is powerful; within its beauty is the potential of destruction, and Malick seems to regard Kit as a force of nature, someone who can kill someone in cold blood with no remorse, much in the same way a tornado can kill.
Music is important in this film, used in a way to suggest emotion, especially since Holly seems to show no emotion at all. Kit, who is a bit livelier, is moved by the music of Nat King Cole, which he listens to on the radio as he and Holly make their way to Montana.
The film is narrated by Holly, who coolly and without emotion describes what is happening to her. It’s like she’s reading the account of someone else. Holly reacts to the killing of her father by Kit in the same way she reacts to the other murders committed by Kit: no reactions at all, just cool detachment. It’s like she exists in a different reality than what we see on screen.
Unlike Holly, Kit does display emotion. Here’s a man who has no moral problem in killing someone, but at the same time, can charm anyone he meets, including the police officers who eventually capture Kit. Kit is so charming that the officers shake his hand and wish him well after being taken into custody (in chains).
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