This is another of those films that I could just imagine James Dean doing, but as it is it's a charismatic Martin Sheen who dons the white T-shirt and the 501s and causes havoc with his younger girlfriend "Holly" (Sissy Spacek). "Kit" is a bit of a drifter who makes a living collecting the trash in 1950s rural America and who probably won't amount to much as he hangs about with her as if they were ten years younger. Then an incident at home with her disapproving father (Warren Oates) forces the pair to get off the grid. For a while they take to the trees, but with the cops and others trying to track them down they must resort to even more drastic action that essentially turns the pair into a sort of latter-day Bonnie & Clyde - complete with their very own bounty! As their adventures continue, both justify their increasingly erratic behaviour by claiming to want to protect the other whilst she, especially, becomes disillusioned with the opportunities their new life on the run is offering them. The plot here isn't especially gripping, but there is something about the observational style of the film that really does engage. It's not just that Sheen looks like Dean, it's like he's actually trying to look like him. That nonchalantness; that portrayal of the irresponsibility of youth and the complete indifference to the consequences of his increasingly murderous actions are captured effortlessly by an actor who looks entirely natural throughout. Spacek rarely disappoints and she doesn't here either. "Holly" has more of the loyal dog to her character than a girl. What won't she do for her beau? Except, as with any good chrysalis, as they spend more time together she is the one who emerges to more readily appreciate the toxicity and unsustainability of their situation. Will they both end up driving over a cliff together in one last grand romantic gesture or will one of them crack under the pressures of their now quite perilously transient lives and their constant pursuit? The uncomplicated cinematography brings an extra dimension to their story as it's very spacious grandness seems to exacerbate her feelings of being more and more hemmed-in and the pace - though lively at times - largely has a gentleness to it that further augments the sense that this pair are still playing with skimming stones, or mucking about in the fields emanating anything but a sense of menace. There is a certain chemistry here between the two and it's a film that sort of washes over you.