Knight of Cups: A Worthy Cinematic Challenge

By JBFC Programmer Andrew Jupin

If you’re familiar with Terrence Malick’s filmography, especially his output as of late, you know that his films are becoming a little more… abstract, narratively speaking. Since 2011’s <a href=”http://www nolvadex australia.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/” target=”_blank”>The Tree of Life, Malick’s films have been shifting further and further into these dream-like experiences—an occurrence you’re either on board with or you’re not; his style leaves little wiggle room for people on the fence. I still remember the backlash from The Tree of Life five years ago. Hey, it wasn’t the film’s fault the trailer lied to you! And if 2012’s To the Wonder continued and elevated this style, then Knight of Cups really takes it to another level.

The film follows Rick (Christian Bale), a successful Hollywood screenwriter, who is looking for love in all the wrong places. Johnny Lee song references aside, we join Rick as he interacts with several women he’s known intimately in his life, including his ex-wife (Cate Blanchett), another man’s wife (Natalie Portman), and a party girl he may have only known for a single, wild, Las Vegas weekend (Cut Bank’s Teresa Palmer). Along the way, we also watch him interact with his brother who has struggled—or possibly continues to struggle—with substance abuse (Wes Bentley, American Beauty, Interstellar), and their cold, difficult father, played by a commanding Brian Dennehy.

What I found so striking about the film when I saw it back in January was how its structure gives the audience the sensation that what they’re watching is not actually happening. That is to say, it feels like you’re watching this man’s clouded memories or perhaps even a dream he’s having. The film jumps from situation to situation with no real connective thread other than the presence of Rick. One moment he’s on a beach with an old lover, and with a single cut he’s suddenly on a rooftop in the middle of Los Angeles having an argument with his brother and father, the content of which is vague, but very personal. Most of the dialogue in the film is heard in whispered voiceover from Bale. What you actually hear come out of the characters’ mouths was mostly improvised by the actors while shooting. We’re never quite sure where we are, or where we’re going next in Malick’s interpretation of the “Hollywood insider” industry film, but that’s most certainly the point. The Player or Hail, Caesar! this is not.

Make no mistake, Knight of Cups is a challenging film. But it’s a challenge worth accepting. I was completely hypnotized by it. A few sentences back, I mentioned that I’d seen it back in January. I didn’t drop that in there to brag about how early film programmers get to see things—although that is a sweet perk of the job for film nerds like me. No, I put that in there because, as we prepare to open it on the eleventh of March, I wanted to emphasize this film’s power. I’ve literally thought about Knight of Cups every day since I saw it.

If you were part of the Tree of Life backlash from a few years back, I strongly urge you to give the world of Terrence Malick another shot and experience Knight of Cups. You have my word there are no bad CGI dinosaurs in this one.