• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Mar 07, 2016 By Shawn Hazelett Web Exclusive

Discussions about the preeminent voice American cinema tend to exclude Terrence Malick. Perhaps due to his unconventional methodology or that he’s not mainstream, but maybe it has more to do with his reclusive nature. After releasing his first two films, Badlands and Days of Heaven, to international acclaim, Malick retreated into seclusion, emerging after two decades with The Thin Red Line. He subsequently released four additional films, though he remains enigmatic. Those lost years remain mysterious. With Knight of Cups, there’s a temptation to connect the dots.

Christian Bale plays a Hollywood screenwriter who has achieved so much success so early in life that he finds himself deeply unfulfilled. No longer chasing big dreams, he has little to do than meander party-to-party, pondering wistfully over what more life has to offer. Booze, drugs, and sex each provide a momentary reprieve from his disenchantment, ultimately digging him into a deeper pit of apathy from which he surfaces, occasionally, to indulge in one of a rotating chorus of women (played by Cate Blanchett, Frieda Pinto, and Natalie Portman, among others). Each has multiple qualities, but like various fruits around him, his satiation reduces them to something more singular, before he eventually moves on.

The beauty of Malick is that he rarely spoon-feeds audiences, but still manages to be engaging despite leaving so many aspects of his films up for interpretation. The issue facing Knight of Cups is that its inherently episodic plot is at odds with his traditionally long, meandering visuals, which do an admirable job conveying mood, tone, and his stark version of LA, but can’t solely tell a story that inherently doesn’t progress. The story, therefore, feels less experiential than told to us by voiceover that lacks the poetry of prior works and becomes a bit too mechanical. If the film does indeed provide clues of his life, it’s only fitting they’re hidden in such an inaccessible narrative—beyond that, however, there’s very little for the audience.

www.theknightofcupsmovie.com

Author rating: 5.5/10