Director: Terrence Malick
Distributor: Cinéart
Duration: 123 minutes
Song to Song (DVD) – Movie Review
Terrence Malick has directed quite a few big films in his life, and has been celebrated for his unique style. In many of his films, characters do voice overs, contemplating about their life, their feelings etc. Also nature plays an important role in his films, especially in combination with human interference. Song to song is no different, as Malick places a pure, honest kind of love opposite a world of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, be it in a not very straightforward way.
Faye (Rooney Mara) is a guitarist living in Texas. She’s hoping to launch her musical career, but that doesn’t prove so simple. In the hope it will help her career, she starts sleeping with a rich and powerful producer named Cook (Michael Fassbender). At one of his decadent parties, she meets BV (Ryan Gosling), a songwriter who has had some success of his own, but also wants to find more with the help of Cook. The two start dating, but Faye keeps sleeping with Cook as well, because she doesn’t want to ruin her chance of a career.
As if this love triangle wasn’t already enough, Cook goes to find distraction elsewhere as well. at a diner, he meets the lovely waitress Rhonda (Natalie Portman). Before they have been dating long, he buys her mother a house and they get married. Cook knows that, as he bought her mother a beautiful house, he now has Rhonda completely in his power, and he forces her to partake in threesomes with hookers.
In the meantime, Faye comes clean to BV about her affair with Cook, and they break up. It’s hard on both of them being apart, but they both go their separate ways and try to find happiness in a new relationship.
While we tried to summarize the story quite clearly, the film is everything but clear. Vague scenes follow each other, here and there tied together with some wandering voice overs. This gives the whole a very unusual feel, and sometimes even makes you wonder what’s real and what is not, while the characters contemplate about where they are going with their lives. The filming only accentuates this feeling, and is really a part of the storytelling, adding a lot of atmosphere to the film. Actually, you could say that the film is told more by the camera techniques and the acting, rather than by using clear dialogues and a steadily moving storyline. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea for sure, as it’s quite different and takes quite a lot of concentration to follow the story, but it’s certainly a nice alternative to what we usually get to see from the American film industry.
A story like this, it being told in such a vague fashion, really stands or falls with the acting performances, as the actors don’t have much to work with. Luckily, there is nothing much to complain about there. Rooney Mara takes the lead, and puts down a character that seems distant and shy on the outside, but has a lot of secrets on the inside. Without using many lines, she manages to let the viewer get to know her character quite well, maybe even better than the other characters around her know her. Ryan Gosling has proven many times before that he is a splendid actor, and here too, he beautifully brings his character to life.
One department where this DVD release is lacking, are the extra features. There are none at all, which is a bit of a shame, certainly as the film has quite interesting filmography and a cast that is well worth the mention. The film certainly stands well on its own, but some extras are always fun.
Conclusion
Song to song is definitely not your average romantic film, but it tells its story in its own unique way. It may be bothersome to some, as you do have to pay attention in order to keep being able to follow the storyline. Nonetheless, it doesn’t hurt to use your brain every now and then while watching a film, thus it’s definitely a nice break from the usual American movie we review. If you’re looking for something different from what you’re used to, this might be up your ally, otherwise, it might disappoint a bit.
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