Ben Affleck
Olga Kurylenko
Rachel McAdams
Javier Bardem

Terrence Malick

112 mins.
Drama, Romance
April 12, 2013

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity. (MPAA)

Terrence Malick brings his trademark camerawork à la “The Tree of Life” and “The New World” to “To the Wonder.” He also relies heavily on voice-overs and the score, which is full of classical music set at a moderately fast tempo. The camera shots mimic memory. It’s like when you remember things from the past in snippets, not linearly. The conversations you had don’t matter, instead it’s the feeling that counts.

Now some (perhaps most) may not care for this kind of filmmaking because it’s not about the narrative: The characters motivations from scene-to-scene are purposefully unclear. As a result, this film may seem like a pretentious art house film to them.

The story (for lack of a better term) is ultimately fairly simple, though: Affleck plays a man who falls in love with a single mother (Olga Kuylenko) who lives with her young daughter in Paris. He convinces her and her daughter to move to Oklahoma to live with him; marriage isn’t a given, though. (The transition from Paris to Oklahoma is expertly made clear through carefully chosen images.) Eventually, his affections for this woman are transferred to a woman from his past (Rachel McAdams), but then transferred back when only the memory of that affection for McAdams’ character remains. The actors are closer to props for Malick. He’s the only storyteller here.

Lots of people compare Malick’s style to poetry. That’s an apt description; you’ll either be willing to work to understand this for yourself or not. Also, this is restless, sweeping filmmaking, which mirrors the internal lives of the characters. The camera’s on a constant search throughout the film. It mimics the work that the mind has to do to remember the times when things were good. It’s not about the details; it’s about the impression that those memories leave behind when the love is lost. Malick doesn’t focus solely on romantic love, though. There’s familial love, as well: The two women have daughters who slip away from them either emotionally or via death.

Can you pinpoint when things started to go south? Is it ever possible to know when something needs to end before people get hurt? Can we free ourselves of these concerns? Can we cleanse ourselves of the past?

There’s also a quiet, seemingly lonely priest, played by Javier Bardem, who contemplates things on a spiritual level. He wants to be taken away by God. The couple attends his services. And toward the beginning of the film, the single mother speaks to him. He also visits Affleck as Affleck contemplates divorce. But that’s his only connection to the main story line. His story’s only tangentially related. But the inclusion of his perspective makes it clear (especially at the end) that this film is really a prayer.

Overall, “To the Wonder” is a good companion piece to “The Tree of Life.” However, in my opinion, it’s not as grand or as wondrous. It has a similar amount of depth and narrative vision, but it packs a less powerful punch. There’s more intimacy, but it’s within a smaller scope. Also, “The Tree of Life” highlights more of a male perspective whereas this film highlights more of a female one. That’s not a bad thing. Again, these films are companion pieces.

Regardless, Malick once again provides something that provokes introspection.

Verdict: Pretty Good

About: (Source: tothewonder)

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, TO THE WONDER is a romantic drama about men and women grappling with love and its many phases and seasons — passion, sympathy, obligation, sorrow and indecision — and the way these forces merge together and drift apart, transforming, destroying and reinventing the lives they touch. Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem, this deeply moving visual film intermingles love, nature and spirit. “All things work together for the good.”