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

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

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.

Posing as a film deeper than it is, 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' is a rare case where the title is more provocative than the work.