‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’ Interviews: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Director David Lowery

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (in selected theaters today Aug. 16) is a small and poetic film about doomed love. A couple of thieves in love, Ruth (Rooney Mara) and Bob (Casey Affleck) are separated after one of thier “jobs” goes wrong. Years later, Bob escapes prison with the goal of reuniting with Ruth and the daughter he never met.

This tale of love, obsession and second chances is more interested in mood than plot. Director David Lowery wants you to contemplate these characters and savior the nostalgic atmosphere of rural Texas in the seventies.

Ben Foster’s character (officer Patrick Wheeler) embodies the film’s restrains. He wants to be Ruth’s second chance, but this isn’t a happy story.

When Ain’t Them Bodies Saints ends you appreciate its style, technical achievements and performances. But you will need patience with not so likeable, predictable characters and a slow pace.

We had the pleasure of being part of the roundtable interviews.

Desde Hollywood: Your character and Casey’s keep saying “This is what we do. This is what we are.”, like it is their nature. Is that how you feel about acting?

Rooney Mara: No. I think I am so many more things than an actor. Acting is my job and I happen to love my job, I love movies and I love acting. I don’t think it defines me. Certainly not the only thing that defines me.

Desde Hollywood: The cinematography is amazing. Did you guys challenged yourselves to use the minimum possible light?

David Lowery: We quickly established how minimalist we wanted that lighting. We wanted the movie really, really dark. We tried to see how much we could push darkness, even in broad daylight. It was really simply but it took a lot of work. The challenge was pulling that off with the limited amount of time we had. The film is shot in a very classical manner an very carefully lit. We spent as much time as possible to light every scene. We wanted it to look old fashioned, but with a rich and exquisite quality.

You can listen to the full audio interviews below.