MovieChat Forums > Days of Heaven (1978) Discussion > A question about the film... help me out...

A question about the film... help me out here.

posted 12 years ago by xgorexpolicex
10 replies | jump to latest

I watched this today for the first time and although I felt the storytelling left a little to be desired, it is definitely a visual masterpiece that I will revisit in the near future (I think every movie deserves at least two viewings). One small thing irked me right from the beginning and I hope the community here can shed a little light on this for me:

I couldn't quite fathom why exactly Bill and Abby were pretending to be brother and sister. I know the voiceover mentions that "people will talk", but this didn't make sense to me. I assumed it was because they weren't married yet, but it seems more likely to me that people would talk more about a brother and sister who are so openly affectionate with one another than about an unmarried couple living together. Also, it would have been just as easy to lie and say they were married (which would have made other men less likely to "stare at her ass like a whore").

Anyway, I'm not dissing the movie. I just had a hard time understanding that key element. Hopefully getting it sorted out will make the second viewing a richer experience. Looking forward to some input.

[–] shantytown1212 11 years ago

If they weren't pretending to be siblings there would be no story.

But to answer your question: Bill probably never felt ready to marry Abby because he was an acknowledged failure (and therefore not "ready" for marriage and the official responsibility of caring for a wife). However he - and probably she - still desired an intimate relationship.

The sibling story allows them to be together and avoid shame.

They wouldn't pretend to be married because - as I said - Bill didn't want marriage, even a pretend one.

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[–] shantytown1212 11 years ago

Was my explanation helpful?

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[–] murph24 9 years ago

I have to agree with the OP on this one. As cover stories go - in other words, as something to tell people to keep them from talking - it was a TERRIBLE cover story. Because not only did it fail to alleviate gossip, it got Gere's character into a fight. If the two of them wanted to play this charade and convince people they were brother & sister, then they had to knock off the lovey-dovey stuff while they were in public. And if they couldn't do that (and apparently they couldn't), then it made much more sense to simply tell everyone they were married; after all, it's not like anyone was going to demand they produce a marriage certificate.

It didn't matter whether Gere's character was ready for a "pretend" marriage or not; if they wanted to avoid attracting attention, they went about it in the worst way possible.

Apart from that, "Days of Heaven" is an interesting film - and a visually stunning one.

[–] dlynch843 9 years ago

murph24--good explanation. The brother-sister thing just wasn't necessary, but the movie was good anyway.

[–] murph24 9 years ago

I should point out, of course, that I'm aware of the film's love triangle aspect & how the Brooke Adams character has to find herself losing interest in Bill and being drawn to Sam Shepard's Farmer. But I think this would have played perfectly well if Bill and Abby had exercised a little control and actually convinced everyone they were siblings. In fact, the contrast between their public image & some licentious behavior in private might have made for some very interesting (and entertaining) scenes.

As it is, their inability to control their sexual urges in public makes nonsense of their brother-sister cover story and muddies the narrative.

[–] Walter_Matthaus_Ghost 11 years ago

At the risk of being overly analytical, it may be that Malick had in mind to draw parallels with the "wife-sister" narratives found in the book of Genesis:

Abram and Sarai and Pharaoh
Abraham and Sarah and Abimelech
Isaac and Rebekah and Abimelech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife%E2%80%93sister_narratives_in_the_Boo k_of_Genesis

In all of these stories, including the film Days of Heaven, the "husband-brother"(s) stand to gain by their deception and are eventually found out.

[–] Iron_Giant 8 years ago

I was reminded of the biblical stories as well, in no small part because of the title of the film.

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[–] Roosevelt97 9 years ago

Their story always puzzled me too. It's an unnecessary distraction in an otherwise great film. It would have made more sense if Gere's character had come up with the story after he learned the Farmer was dying and interested in his girlfriend.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

"It would have made more sense if Gere's character had come up with the story after he learned the Farmer was dying and interested in his girlfriend".

But by that time everyone would have known that they're NOT brother and sister, so the lie couldn't possibly have worked.

Generally though it is indeed a somewhat problematic plot point - I mean, what's with this "people would start talking" stuff about, anyway? Would these simple working class folks amongst whom they lived really have cared so much wether they're married or not?

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[–] Gadare 8 years ago

Premarital sex was considered a crime in many places in early 20th century America.

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