The Terrence Malick "witch hunt," that has been happening ever since "To The Wonder," which then continued with "Knight of Cups" and now has hit a peak of animosity with "Song to Song," has finally hit its goal of de-legitimizing the once legendary director. I finally caught up with "Song to Song" this week and, sadly, the term "unwatchable" comes to mind. What happened? The last three films Malick has conceived, although original in structure, have the most cliched love stories imaginable. They all, more or less, have to do with romantic yearning and feature some of the biggest names in the business: Ben Affleck, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams. That's also another problem. Having star wattage, well known faces, does a disservice to what Malick is trying to achieve here. You don't buy the yearning these big stars actors are performing on-screen. Maybe, having unknown actors would have benefited the story a little more. Which brings me to Malick's next film which, God help me, I'm actually very much looking forward to: The WWII film "Radegund," which stars unknown German actors and seems to be a departure from his recent trilogy from hell. Hopefully I'll get to see it at Cannes this coming May, if Cannes hasn't given up on the venerable writer-director, which I fear they might have.
Terrence Malick is officially a lost auteur, stuck in limbo, trying to find his way back
The Terrence Malick "witch hunt," that has been happening ever since "To The Wonder," which then continued with "Knight of Cups" and now has hit a peak of animosity with "Song to Song," has finally hit its goal of de-legitimizing the once legendary director. I finally caught up with "Song to Song" this week and, sadly, the term "unwatchable" comes to mind. What happened? The last three films Malick has conceived, although original in structure, have the most cliched love stories imaginable. They all, more or less, have to do with romantic yearning and feature some of the biggest names in the business: Ben Affleck, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams. That's also another problem. Having star wattage, well known faces, does a disservice to what Malick is trying to achieve here. You don't buy the yearning these big stars actors are performing on-screen. Maybe, having unknown actors would have benefited the story a little more. Which brings me to Malick's next film which, God help me, I'm actually very much looking forward to: The WWII film "Radegund," which stars unknown German actors and seems to be a departure from his recent trilogy from hell. Hopefully I'll get to see it at Cannes this coming May, if Cannes hasn't given up on the venerable writer-director, which I fear they might have.