'To the Wonder' is director Terrence Malick at his most incomprehensible
A new movie by Terrence Malick used to be greeted with high expectations, partly because he made so very few of them. Each unveiling was an event. But he鈥檚 been turning them out pretty frequently of late: 2011's 鈥�The Tree of Life鈥� has been followed by 鈥淭o the Wonder,鈥� with another film reportedly close to completion.
I was not a big cheerleader for 鈥淭he Tree of Life,鈥� but 鈥淭o the Wonder鈥� is far below it. Essentially it鈥檚 an agglomeration of Malick鈥檚 worst stylistic annoyances 鈥� the highflown, hollow-sounding voice overs; the religioso-philosophical incantations often uttered by people who look like they never cracked a book; and so on.
Ben Affleck wanders almost wordlessly through this film in an uncomprehending daze (I sympathize with him), while Olga Kurylenko, as his partner in a doomed love affair, spends most of her time spinning herself around like a top in the open air.
Is Malick deliberately courting self-parody here? Probably not. That would imply he had a sense of humor. Grade: C- (Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.)
