Review of Knight of Cups (2015) by Thomas D — 13 Sep 2016

Terrence Malick's are often something completely different from anything you'll experience at a movie theater, so I'm always interested in seeing the next thing he has up his sleeve. Knight of Cups continues his streak of highly experimental and undoubtedly polarizing filmmaking. I can't say it's the easiest to review, considering there really is no overarching story, so I'll instead opt to simply react to my time watching this ensemble piece. The main thing I took from the experience was that Malick wished to make something about the hypocritical underbelly of the Hollywood landscape. Christian Bale, who plays the main character (of sorts), is a Hollywood screen writer but we never truly get any sense that he works within the film business. Instead, it's his exploration or pilgrimage through the majestic world and sexual desires that come along with it. But really, that's about it. It's gorgeously shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, obviously, and Malick weaves through characters in an interestingly brisk fashion. I don't necessarily mean this in a critical way, but it may be a better watch without the unnecessary and strange narration or score. Instead, enjoy Lubezki's beautiful cinematography and several big name actor cameos as a background to whatever else you're doing. The story (or lack thereof) just didn't resonate with me. I much prefer Malick's earlier features with more polished performances and traditional script. But perhaps, that's just me.

40/100.