To the Wonder (2012)
When the leading actors don’t have anything nice to say about the movie they’re making, that’s not a good sign. However, if you actually sit down and watch To the Wonder, you can cut Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams some slack. It really is a lousy movie, so the nicest thing they could have said would have been nothing at all.
If you’ve never seen a Terrence Malick movie, you should know he’s a love-him-or-hate-him kind of fellow. You either think he’s incredibly deep and powerful, or you can’t understand why he was given a video camera. If you start off the first fifteen minutes and you hate his style, just turn the movie off. He won’t grow on you. If you think the shots are framed beautifully and the lack of screenplay doesn’t matter because the nature backgrounds are gorgeous, he’s found a new fan.
Alright, let’s discuss the plot, if we can follow it. Ben Affleck meets Olga Kurylenko meet while on vacation, and he brings her back to America with him. Living on a farm in Oklahoma is far different than the romantic setting of Paris, and Olga has some adjusting to do. To help her out is Javier Bardem, a priest who doesn’t really act very holy. Ben also has some temptations to overcome, in the form of Rachel McAdams, an old flame. If you can follow all that, you’re a better man than I. I had to read different analyses to get what was happening.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie will not be your friend. Because of the director’s style, there are spinning, upside down, and handheld camera movements, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
More Rachel McAdams movies here!
If you’ve never seen a Terrence Malick movie, you should know he’s a love-him-or-hate-him kind of fellow. You either think he’s incredibly deep and powerful, or you can’t understand why he was given a video camera. If you start off the first fifteen minutes and you hate his style, just turn the movie off. He won’t grow on you. If you think the shots are framed beautifully and the lack of screenplay doesn’t matter because the nature backgrounds are gorgeous, he’s found a new fan.
Alright, let’s discuss the plot, if we can follow it. Ben Affleck meets Olga Kurylenko meet while on vacation, and he brings her back to America with him. Living on a farm in Oklahoma is far different than the romantic setting of Paris, and Olga has some adjusting to do. To help her out is Javier Bardem, a priest who doesn’t really act very holy. Ben also has some temptations to overcome, in the form of Rachel McAdams, an old flame. If you can follow all that, you’re a better man than I. I had to read different analyses to get what was happening.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie will not be your friend. Because of the director’s style, there are spinning, upside down, and handheld camera movements, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
More Rachel McAdams movies here!