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Ain't Them Bodies Saints

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Ain't Them Bodies Saints

R

Released Aug 16, 2013

1h 35m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

129 Reviews

61%

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10,000+ Ratings

A man (Casey Affleck) takes the fall for his lover's (Rooney Mara) crime, then four years later breaks out of prison to find her and their young daughter, who was born during his incarceration.

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Critics Consensus

While conventional in plot, Ain't Them Bodies Saints is a visually poetic film that pays homage to the New Hollywood directors of the 1970s and promises big things from director David Lowery.

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

Rooney and Affleck never overplay their parts in fine performances that make you long for a smile from one of them.

May 30, 2023

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J. Hoberman

ARTINFO.com

[Ain't Them Bodies Saints] is... beautifully shot, highly aestheticized, ponderously lyrical, dramatically inert, lugubriously scored, and weirdly sanctimonious.

Feb 22, 2019

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

The problem with the film, written and directed by David Lowery, is that it's tepidly drawn, with molasses-like pacing and an anticlimactic ending that does little to keep the audience invested.

Rated: C-

Sep 6, 2017

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Everything is relentlessly grim and dour without earning the weight to make that mean something.

Feb 25, 2021

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Pablo Muñoz

Espinof

Somehow, everything in the movie feels forced. [Full Review in Spanish]

Apr 17, 2020

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

A homage to American cinema of the brown era, one that has many beautiful parts that don't add up to an interesting whole.

Rated: 2.8/5

Nov 20, 2019

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Faiz D

This is a stunningly beautiful film with a score to match.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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Audience Member

Well, Casey's always gonna give a great performance and Kith was nice to see after not having seen him for a long time. The movies shot nicely. The biggest flaw= is the story. Frankly, it's a little boring and toss in the glacial pacing and it makes for a long yet somewhat disappointing narrative. It's a movie you don't hate to watch, but will never watch it again once seen.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/05/24

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KB B

I thought it was a compelling movie with good acting and storyline. It's a tearjerker. Casey Affleck is one of my favorite actors and is superb in this as usual. It's definitely worth the watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/17/24

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Joe W

So bad I created an account to review. Aggressively boring! Cinematography and pacing can go a long way to carry a contemplative movie but this clunker fails on both fronts. Agony to watch!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

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KARL O

I guess someone's a big Terence Malik fan. Sometimes imitation is not the greatest form of flattery. This is a movie that even managed to make the action sequences dull. A whole lot of acting for one small movie. I missed this on release. I'm sorry I didn't leave it missed.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/26/22

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Audience Member

Convincing performances, down-to-earth drama with that ‘modern times western' feel to it. Slow at times, tense at others and with a predictable, but satisfying, ending. Not without viewing and entertainment value, despite a slew of dumb decisions from the main character.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

A man (Casey Affleck) takes the fall for his lover's (Rooney Mara) crime, then four years later breaks out of prison to find her and their young daughter, who was born during his incarceration.

Director: David Lowery
Producer: Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Cassian Elwes, Amy Kaufman
Screenwriter: David Lowery
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Parts & Labor, Sailor Bear
Rating: R (Some Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $387.6K
Runtime: 1h 35m

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