Ever since his return to filmmaking in 1998, director
Terrence Malick has established himself as the most unconventional filmmaker in
the business. The word un-traditional is used a lot to describe his approach,
from shooting movies without a script and then taking years to edit, from
refusing to do press or cluing his actors in on the film they’re actually in.
He’s a maverick and his films show it; often trading off a storyline in favor
of philosophical ideas and using actors as props instead of characters. His
latest, KNIGHT OF CUPS, shows that he has no intention of changing his style to
please anyone.
Rick (Christian Bale) is a Hollywood screenwriter who is on
the verge of signing on to work on a blockbuster film which will make him a
millionaire, but he is going through some sort of personal crisis…and spends
most of his time bedding women (played by Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman,
Freida Pinto, and Imogen Poots), while sorting out his old issues with his
brother (Wes Bentley), and his father (Brian Dennehy).
True to the Malick style, KNIGHT OF CUPS does not offer much
of a storyline in the traditional sense. Instead of an unfolding narrative
where we follow a character through plot point after plot point, KNIGHT OF CUPS
instead watches Rick as he stares out across the cityscape watching helicopters
fly around. Characters rarely speak to each other, and we are instead treated
to whispered narration in which their thoughts and feelings are expressed.
Long-time admirers of Malick will certainly enjoy the approach, (the style is
his trademark), and KNIGHT OF CUPS deserves points for being its own thing.
The film is divided up into eight chapters; with each
chapter taking its name from the Tarot cards. Each chapter explores a theme,
but here is where KNIGHT OF CUPS loses its shine. The film is horribly
redundant as each chapter is exactly the same; Rick wanders around, meets a new
girl, beds her, gets close to her, drifts away from her, and then goes back to
wandering around staring at helicopters. It’s like watching the same vignette
over and over, and by the third chapter the pattern is painfully obvious. Maybe
Malick is trying to stay something about the repetitive nature of life, but as
a film it gets old really fast.
Shot around Los Angeles and Hollywood, Malick and
cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki do amazing work in filming the city. The
beauty of the ocean and her beaches are stunning, as is the dullness of a
highway underpass or abandoned building. The film spends a lot of time at
locations in L.A. which have been used countless times for Hollywood
productions. Long-time film-fans will recognize most of them, and one has to
wonder if Malick is mocking Hollywood by utilizing them. Still, the film is
technically proficient and beautifully scored, although Malick’s decision to
shoot the actors from their backside for 90% of the film does get annoying; we
see the backs of their heads more than their faces…again, perhaps another
statement by Malick which works against the enjoyment of the movie.
It’s difficult to judge the acting in KNIGHT OF CUPS because
no one really acts and instead walk around each other. The only true acting
Malick seems to allow is when Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett square off
against each other as ex-lovers. There are fireworks for a few glorious seconds
before the dialogue disappears, and it feels like we were cheated out of a real
showcase of acting from these two greats.
After dealing with a whole lot of redundancy, KNIGHT OF CUPS
offers a finale which leaves Rick in the exact place where he started the film;
which isn’t the worst thing in the world for a film to do, but considering the
lack of a true narrative and all of the philosophical ideas tossed around (with
no answers given), one has to wonder what the point of KNIGHT OF CUPS really is
other than Malick quietly poking fun at mainstream Hollywood. Malick has given
us a beautiful film which deserves praise for being its own thing and far from
the standard fare grinded out by the Hollywood machine, but it doesn’t seem
interested in functioning as a movie, and like its maker, doesn’t really care.
BOTTOM LINE: Rent it
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