Synopsis:
In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples – struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Natalie Portman) – chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.
From director Terrence Malick, SONG TO SONG is produced by Sarah Green, Nicolas Gonda, and Ken Kao. Prominent crew includes three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant, Birdman), two-time Oscar nominated production designer Jack Fisk, and three-time Oscar nominated costume designer Jacqueline West.
What We Thought:
I tried to watch Song to Song at the theater. What I mean by that is, I went to a screening of the film, sat down in my chair, watched 25 minutes of it and walked out. I never walk out of movies. I’ve done it maybe 4 times in my entire life and this is one of them. The problem is Terrence Malick.
Malick used to be one of the directors you watched and broke down his films piece by piece. He took years off, but came back with The Thin Red Line and The New World. Then came The Tree of Life. I didn’t get the point of it, but at least it attempted to have a story narrative. He followed that up with To The Wonder. That was worse than The Tree of Life. After seeing that one I was hesitant to see Knight of Cups, but it stars Christian Bale, my favorite actor. I hated it. I wanted nothing to do with Malick, but look at the cast of this film. Fassbender, Gosling, Portman, Mara, how do you skip a movie with that cast? I couldn’t, so I went. It started with a voiceover and I immediately knew I made a mistake going.
So I decided to give this Blu-ray a try. I was going to watch it start to finish no matter what and you know what? I made the right choice the first time I walked out. It’s pointless. Just like Knight of Cups, there is no story narrative whatsoever. There are musicians and Fassbender is an exec, but none of it really goes anywhere or serves a purpose.
The biggest issue I have with the film (along with Knight of Cups and To The Wonder) is, just because you have beautifully fluid camera movement and beautiful people on-screen doesn’t mean you have a movie. I can not tell you what Malick’s last three films are about. And it stinks because they are beautiful to look at. The cinematography and style are through the roof, but you have to give me something to care about, root for or understand. Pretty people dancing or walking or talking isn’t a movie!
The Blu-ray does look beautiful though. It flows easily and has great visuals. It sounds top-notch as well. The music in the film fills your room and the voiceover sounds clear. There’s one bonus feature: The Music Behind the Movie.
Song to Song was another swing and a miss from Terrence Malick. He claims he’s going back to normal filmmaking after this. I’m thinking the people who fund his movies got tired of movies that people didn’t see. Despite having a fantastic cast and great style, I just can’t recommend the movie to anyone beyond diehard Malick fans. It’s simply not a movie to me.
Cast & Crew:
- Michael Fassbender
- Natalie Portman
- Ryan Gosling
- Rooney Mara
- Director Terrence Malick
Recommended If You Like:
- Knight of Cups
- Terrence Malick Movies
The Nerds Templar 