@Filmhouse Sun 25 Jun & Cineworld Wed 28 Jun 2017
Part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Having arguably reached his peak with 1998’s The Thin Red Line, Terrence Malick has bounced from directing one box office failure to the next. His latest effort is Song to Song, an avant-garde exploration of love triangles in the heady world of the music industry which features a star-studded cast packed to the rafters with beautiful faces… and not much else.
Though it’s marketed as being set against the backdrop of the Texan music scene, there is very little music on display here. Sure, we’re treated to cameos from such behemoths as Johnny Rotten, Iggy Pop and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and one of the main characters is apparently a talented musician and another his record producer, but outwith these flimsy confines, the soundtrack itself is given very little thought or airtime.
Instead, Malick prefers a format of clipped scenes of what appears to be mostly improvised action, overlaid with mumbling, breathy narratives from Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling that quickly become even more annoying than they sound. Aside from the aforementioned stars, the cast itself is very strong; Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman are both characteristically believable in their supporting roles, while the likes of Cate Blanchett, Holly Hunter and Val Kilmer all make memorable cameos.
Even so, the glittering array of talent on show can’t do much to polish up this self-obsessed, meandering mincer of a film. With the absence of any dialogue (or, indeed, any scene) lasting for more than 30 seconds, characterisation and story arcs are both hoofed irretrievably out of the window and the two hours and nine minutes become a slog before they’re even a quarter over.
The visuals may well be excellent and there is much cavorting around of beautiful, beautiful people, but the plot itself says absolutely nothing original and takes far too long in doing so. Malick’s fragmentary style is certainly innovative and while a director brave enough to try new things is a commendable endeavour, it doesn’t always work out (see Linklater’s Slacker for supporting evidence) and Song to Song is most definitely another for the oh-well-never-mind pile.