Director: Terence Malick
Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem, Tatiana Chiline, Romina Mondello,
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Anyone who’s ever been to Mont Saint-Michel will have experienced the unforgettable ride towards the iconic island. However, even a memory of nearly 20 years begins to fade, so it is a testament of the great power of Terence Malick and TO THE WONDER, that the film reinvigorates such memories as though bringing them back from the brink of being forgotten. If there’s one thing Malick knows how to do, it’s capture imagery in a way that is absorbed by the soul.
TO THE WONDER is the sixth film of Malick’s, and is the shortest time between two of his films. There was just over a year between this and his previous effort whereas his previous shortest break between films was six years, with his longest being twenty. So when a director like Malick makes a film, you know it’s for a bloomin’ good reason.
Anyone still approaching Malick out of curiosity and having explored his past efforts should know that TO THE WONDER is merely an expansion on the techniques and style he has perfected over his career: gorgeous camerawork, the stroking of grass, and narration and inner monologues dominating over dialogue are found in abundance here, as is Malick’s suppression of a traditional narrative. This will either put viewers off or make them scream with delight.
TO THE WONDER explores the romances of Neil (Affleck) as he gets involved with a French woman (Kurylenko) but reconnects with an old flame (McAdams) as his lover returns home. Malick takes his subject and works as both an aesthetic voyeur as well as a mindreading psychologist. What we see and what we hear are two very different things, with each voice over filled with poetic musings that centre on love, religion, faith, fate, and hope. Meanwhile, Malick continues his love affair with nature. If nothing else, he can capture sites you walk past everyday and present them in a way you could never possibly imagine. Even if you’ve been to some of the places he captures during the opening in France, they wouldn’t have looked as good as they do here.
The performances are beautifully subtle, with the actors being caught at their most vulnerable thanks to Malick shooting tons of footage, of which the actors have no idea what will make the final cut. They’re so deep into their roles that the dialogue which is absent isn’t necessary at all to understand what these characters are going through. Kurylenko gives the performance of her career, while Affleck reminds us that before becoming a great director himself, he was also a grand acting talent. Malick also uses non-professional actors to relate stunning anecdotes obviously torn from their real lives. This adds a sense of realism, as well as branching out from the main characters. Too often romances have such an isolated and introspective view.
It isn’t often that you’ll be offered such a heartfelt and existential piece, where story comes second to experience. There’s an honest tone to the entire production that clearly hints at a personal and autobiographical connection between the film and Malick himself, but rather than try and entertain us with a forced and dire love triangle plot, he shows us a simple truth that will resonate with many. It would appear that Malick doesn’t need all that time between films to make something great.
TO THE WONDER is released on DVD on 17th June via studiocanal.
