Terrence Malick’s first serious misstep, a rambling ”portrait” of a struggling couple (Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko) who move from Paris to the Oklahoma countryside, and a Catholic priest (Javier Bardem) who’s unhappy and can’t hear the voice of God. Fans of the filmmaker might find something to enjoy in the beautiful visuals and some deeper insights into the nature of relationships and loneliness. We get what Malick’s after… but this time there’s no effort to hold the random images together.

2013-U.S. 113 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Terrence Malick. Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki. Cast: Ben Affleck (Neil), Olga Kurylenko (Marina), Rachel McAdams (Jane), Javier Bardem (Father Quintana), Tatiana Chiline, Romina Mondello.

Trivia: Rachel Weisz, Jessica Chastain, Michael Sheen, Amanda Peet, Barry Pepper and Michael Shannon all shot scenes that ended up on the cutting-room floor. Christian Bale was first cast in the lead.

IMDb