To the Wonder

If you hated Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, you will most likely hate this one. And if you loved Tree … well … you might be OK watching this. Ben Affleck stars (sort of) as an American who falls in love while in Paris and brings the woman (Olga Kurylenko) and her daughter home to Texas. Malick reduces Affleck to sulking for the most part; it’s a role that never allows him to cut loose. Pitt had a similar assignment in The Tree of Life, but he did a much better job in the format. Affleck looks confused, as does Rachel McAdams as an old flame he revisits. She’s required to look forlorn, sad and beautiful. She does little else. The reason to see the film, besides its excellent visuals, is Kurylenko, who shines in the central role. I admire this film in that it tells a complete story in a very different way. But I don’t love it in the way that I’ve loved past Malick films. So, in a way, it’s a disappointment.