Malick’s latest offering is a huge disappointment and made me wonder why I was bothering.
Neil (Ben Affleck) is swept off his feet by the beautiful Marina (Olga Kurylenko), and the two embark on a passionate affair in France. After visiting the majestic Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, the couple decide to relocate to Neil’s homeland of Oklahoma, taking with them Marina’s ten year old daughter. But the relationship soon begins to stumble across problems and when Marina’a visa runs out she decides to return to France. Neil rapidly moves on in the form of childhood friend Jane (Rachel McAdams) and his destiny seems to be fixed. However, Marina unexpectedly returns and her confidant, Father Quintana (Javier Bardem), echoes the turmoil of the characters through his own disillusionment.
I am not averse to a meandering, ponderous film with a metaphysical approach but To the Wonder really pushes these to the limit and truly tests audiences. With hardly any dialogue, character development or a plot to speak of, there is little to identify or emotionally connect with at all. However, no one can doubt Malick’s ability to produce a beautiful looking film and this is his third collaboration with director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki. The result is a dreamlike journey, where you feel like you are floating around with the characters but never truly comprehending what is going on.
Rather than permeating the subconscious, the effect of this journey barely touches the surface and is both unremarkable and ephemeral. Ben Affleck barely says a word throughout the whole film, thus leaving little impression other than that of blandness and detachment. Olga Kurylenko is not particularly likeable as Marina and by the end of the film seems nothing more than fickle. Javier Bardem is underused as Father Quintana, the priest who is having a crisis of faith, and Rachel McAdams as Jane is unsuccessful at seducing us like she seduces Neil.
When the characters of Neil and Marina relocate to Oklahoma we are reminded of Malick’s previous achievement, Days of Heaven (1978), with gorgeous landscape shots of agricultural land and sweeping crepuscular skies. Frustratingly, the film isn’t remotely as engaging or poetic as Malick’s earlier work.
With the combination of dramatic music, contemplative shots and tumultuous characters, one can see where Malick is coming from and what he is trying to achieve but he fails to give his characters any depth despite their constant inner thoughts being projected in a pretentious voiceover. One director who has managed this combination to great success is Lars Von Trier with Melancholia (2011), and unfortunately To the Wonder therefore feels like a weak imitation in terms of style and approach.
Thematically the film focuses predominantly on love; the complexities and many phases, and here lies the film’s strength. This indeed feels like an authentic portrayal, raising questions and attempting to capture the unpredictability of human emotions. Malick is also not afraid to juxtapose this with religion and in particular Catholicism.
If you are extremely patient and don’t require any character development or dialogue between the main protagonists, then you may get something out of this film but personally I did not feel engaged enough and did not care for the characters resulting in an unsatisfied and frustrated response. The lyrical visuals were not enough to compensate for the lacking aspects.
The extras on the DVD are limited with a 10-minute ‘making of’ and an interview with Olga Kurylenko.
To the Wonder is out on Blu-ray and DVD on 17th June 2013.
Director: Terrence Malick
Writer: Terrence Malick
Stars: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem
Runtime: 112 mins
Country: USA
Film Rating: 
