Review of To the Wonder (2013) by James R — 09 Jul 2016

This one is not gonna be for everyone. If you've never seen a Terrence Malick film then this one might be a bit too much for you. There's beautifully shot scenes like literally some of the best cinematography I've ever seen, but man is there little to no plot that is easily presented.

Malick likes to leave a movie bare to show you what it's about. it's up to the viewer to figure it all out. Very art house like. The movie is about Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko).

Marina is a Ukrainian woman living with her ten year old daughter in France. She meets Neil and they fall madly in love. Neil takes them back to the states to live with him in Oklahoma. Soon enough things start going bad and Marina leaves the country.

Neil then meets up with an old friend Jane (Rachel McAdams) who has her own ranch. Neil starts a romance with her, but things don't work out. He goes back to France and brings Marina back and finally marries her.

Although, they are together Marina feels isolated and lonely in Oklahoma and just never feels like she fits in. There's also a priest in the film named Father Quintana (Javier Bardem) who is questioning his faith and interacts with Neil and Marina sparingly.

Overall, I enjoyed aspects of the film (mostly cinematography), but man I wished this was more structured. I know what I was getting myself into with the director, but I never connected with any character and just really didn't care what happened by the end.

Overall, only film buffs will want to give this one a look. Everyone else should probably stay away.