Movie: To the Wonder

You know... I'm too uptight. I take life too seriously. Everything has to mean something. All art needs to be innovative and boundary transcending. And the only good film is the indie film about longing and loss, invariably ending badly because that is the only true reflection of our short meaningless existence. Sometimes I wish I weren't like this. Sometimes I wish I could sit back and enjoy fluff engineered to make you smile and feel better about yourself. Silver Linings Playbook shouldn't be met with derision, it should be met with a mutual laugh among friends, it should be seen as an entertaining romp to interrupt the tedious daily demands of the middle class american. But that's not who I am. I demand film to be artful, to push boundaries, to make me feel something I wouldn't normally feel and Terrence Malick is doing a great job meeting my expectations.

Malick has been honing his craft for a couple decades. To look back on his previous works is to watch an artist first find his favorite techniques and then master them. The Thin Red Line was a little messy, it wandered a bit, it felt unrestrained and slightly unfocused, but there was brilliance and beauty throughout. The Tree of Life was a natural evolution being a film of massive scope, but with a sharper focus and it displayed a mastery of his shooting style which can only be described as an angel's perspective. The camera flies through the air in graceful arcs reacting to the humanness of the characters on screen while capturing the environment, the natural lighting, the grass underfoot. The Tree of Life was an absurdly beautiful film even though it explored some very challenging and painful themes.

To the Wonder is Malick showing further mastery of his unique shooting style while experimenting with the narrative in a very innovative way. There are very few vocal exchanges between characters. Most of the script is inner monologue, poetic observations, internal conflict, quiet thoughts the characters never share with anyone. Whenever there are two characters on the screen they are silent, they are shown reacting to each other in a very instinctual, very physical way. This was the biggest complaint from critics. The lack of dialog between characters made it a challenge to follow the story. But I love a challenge and the story seemed clear enough to me. Although, and this is the beauty of art in general, it's up to interpretation. This is what makes good songs great, this is what makes good literature timeless, so I'm not sure why critics would be unwilling to consider the merit of poetic delivery in film. Poetic delivery ensures the audience will take in the presentation and interpret it in very personal ways giving them all unique perspectives, unique ideas to share and pass on.

To the Wonder explores love in this poetic fashion, how it flows, sometimes beginning with fire and urgency, sometimes drifting away or slowly eroding, sometimes evolving into something truly transcendent. We invariably seek it with fervent anticipation, but oftentimes what we seek is unrealistic causing much anguish. And just as I expected from a film about real life, it ends badly. I have no doubt that Malick will keep giving us examples of brilliant artistic expression as long as he's able, making films that will stand the test of time, films that will be a normal part of film school curriculum and I look forward to each and every one.

5/5