5. Days of Heaven (1978)
Ive already said that Im an admirer of Malicks work, so choosing his worst film is a lot like choosing the worst kind of cake. Instead of worst, lets call this spot the least best place on the list. Despite Days of Heavens gorgeous visuals, it lacks the sense of character, coherence and meaning that are needed in order for it to all come together as a complete vision. The story here is paper thin: a man (Richard Gere) kills his boss in a steel mill scrum, than moves with his girlfriend Abby and sister to work for a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard). Eventually the farmer falls for Abby, complicating things for all of them. There is plenty to look at and admire, even adore, in Days of Heaven. Despite the limitations of camera and film technology of the time, Malick creates some truly stirring images, most memorably a swarm of locusts enveloping the farm workers. But for all the beauty hes able to render, it doesnt quite come together in the way that it needs to in order to really make us feel the passion, love, and bitter disappointments that the characters in the film experience. This is Malick right on the edge of fully diving into the style we now expect from him. It just wasnt quite there yet.