Review of To the Wonder (2013) by Andreas W — 13 Sep 2013

While I absolutely hate Terrance Malick's film The Tree of Life, I can't help but to like To The Wonder. Malick's style is one that I very much enjoy but it is sometimes the execution that fails. Thankfully, To The Wonder is a perfect mixture of Malick's cinematic style and dialogue. My biggest problem with The Tree of Life was that it focused solely on the visuals and not on the story. To The Wonder immediately tells a story and even though it is hard to decipher what Terrance Malick is trying to say by the conclusion of the film, there is enough substance to take bits and pieces away to make assumptions.

The score is the main thing that drives this movie, besides the cinematography and it doesn't ever let up. The score flows extremely well with the pace of the film and it gives off the proper emotions that the scene holds, which in a film such as this is very hard to accomplish.

The best way to describe the overall feeling of this film, is that I could definitely see To The Wonder play in the background of some art exhibit. Each shot in this film is like a photograph and while this concept seems boring, Terrance Malick has a way with making images stand out by having each shot say something different.

As far as the acting goes, it was good but you can't really judge it because the acting isn't the point. Malick is the one who tells the story and whether or not it is a good one, rests all on his shoulders. For his latest effort, To The Wonder, the story is put together extremely well. Definitely worth the rent.