Song to Song - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Song to Song

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Terrence Malick. That name will either have you running for the door in sheer terror, or getting ready for a 5-hour metaphysical discussion about his films. He’s just that polarizing of a director. I have to say that I was originally a big fan of the artistic director’s work. Days of Heaven is a masterpiece of a film, and The New World is a wonderful (if not slow paced) drama. It wasn’t until The Tree of Life that I started to tire of his philosophical ramblings in his film. The Tree of Life was an amazingly artistic movie, but it was more of an arthouse project that didn’t really appeal to the masses that well. I understood its message, and the use of nonlinear storytelling was amazingly well done. The problem is, Malick seems to have decided that EVERY film he’s going to make past that The Tree of Life follow that same pattern. A gorgeously shot film that is hauntingly beautiful, but nothing more than an amalgamation of ADD riddled cinematic shots coupled with dialog that is more metaphysical than anything (most of which is ad libbed since Malick doesn’t use an actual script with written dialog most of the time. Instead he gives “themes” for the actors to go off of and just wing it).

I hesitate to really try and summarize the film here, as there really is very little structural plot at play. The film starts out set against the Austin Texas music scene (director Terrance Malick’s old home) and really is about a love triangle between struggling songwriter Faye (Rooney Mara), BV (Ryan Gosling) and media mogul, Cook (Michael Fassbender). BV is at one of Cook’s lavish parties when he meets Faye and instantly falls for her. The thing is, she’s seeing Cook out of the old “If I pay my dues to the rich person in the know, I’ll finally get ahead in life” scenario. BV has no idea that he’s dating Cook’s girl, while Cook gleefully allows the relationship to happen, all the while ensnaring a simple Austin waitress named Rhonda (Natalie Portman) in typical megalomaniac fashion.

Even though each and every one of the 4 main characters have their own focus and their own pain to struggle through, the movie tends to focus on Faye the most. She’s a struggling songwriter who is trying to sleep her way through to the top and is struggling with the realization that she’s getting nowhere. She’s falling for BV and enjoys that spark of love that they share, but is captured and entangled by the web of Cook at the same time.

Malick is not your average director. In fact, he grew up around Austin and went to school for a degree in philosophy. He then went overseas and almost attained his PHD in the subject, before coming back to the states and writing a few papers and books and then taking a 90 degree turn and going to school for filmography. There he gained his passion for film and decided to use his keen eye for beautiful cinematography and philosophy together, thus becoming one of the most unique director’s out there. With that being said, this is where the disconnect comes from your average filmgoer. When you mix a director who loves beautiful nature shots and is into metaphysical philosophy, you’re not going to please a vast majority of the populace. While the man has always been a bit “loose” with his plot structure, Malick stuck to typical structured plots for the first half of his career. It wasn’t until Tree of Life that he went COMPLETELY metaphysical and prefers to have his actors just wing it while he directs their emotions and senses throughout his latest 3-4 films. As such, Song to Song will come off as pretentious and annoying to many people, while those who really enjoy metaphysical ramblings about one hand clapping will enjoy the message that he’s trying to get across.

On the surface, the film is about 4 rich white people who you would normally want NOTHING to do with, just running around the Austin music scene moping about their lives. In some ways this IS the point, as Malick seems to be dealing with life and how it doesn’t always turn out like we want it to. Finding yourself in what seems like a haze of reality is tough for people, but it’s especially tough for those who are trying to make it in the entertainment industry. Even though you despise the characters, it’s done on purpose. Watching Knight of Cups and Song to Song back to back shows that Malick REALLY has a disdain for how the entertainment industry chews up and spits out those who are trying to make it big. The UNFORTUNATE side to this is that Malick is just a little TOO metaphysical in his approach (in my opinion). The film is really nothing more than a nature documentary with rambling narration by the Cook, BV and Faye as they stumble around and talk about their pain. The scenes are disjointed and feel more like Planet Earth than an actual movie most of the time, with the final 15 minutes really holding most of the real “meat” of the plot. As such the majority of folks are going to find the movie incredibly confusing and boring, while Malick’s core audience will eat it up (which is not a bad thing in the slightest, as he caters to a very niche audience).




Rating:

Rated R for some sexuality, nudity, drug use and language




Video:

Malick loves his nature shots, and Song to Song is nothing if not INCREDIBLY beautiful. Malick’s strongest suit in all of his movies is that he has an impeccable eye for cinematography. The landscapes and water shots that he focuses on are simply mesmerizing, and with the lack of cohesive plot you could literally turn the audio off on your TV and just enjoy the film as a semi-documentary. Clarity is razor sharp as the digital photography captures every little bit of detail possible. The colors are warm and inviting, with strong saturation levels. There’s a soft “dirty” look to the film at times, but it’s distinctly intentional and captures the look of the Austin, Texas landscape beautifully.





Audio:

Broadgreen Pictures has put the same 5.1 DTS-HD MA track on both the Blu-ray AND the 4K UHD disc, so the following will be the same no matter if you’re reading my Blu-ray or 4K review. Much like his cinematography, Terrance Malick has fantastic audio to his films, and with the background of the Austin music scene as the background for his movie, it’s a track that’s overflowing with a wonderfully immersive mix of songs, ranging from punk to folk. The music has a very organic and “live” feeling to it considering the source, but it’s all impeccably done with a great sense of immersion. Dialog is crisp and clear, even when obviously recording outside of a recording studio. The narration is the most powerful and clean vocal segments, but the rest is evenly balanced with the rest of the track. Surround presence is amazing, with music taking up a bulk of the activity, but there is plenty of ambient noises from Malick’s much loved nature to give the track a very rich and multi-faceted feel. LFE is clean and deep, impactful when necessary but also soft and subtle when it’s not needed.









Extras:

• The Music Behind the Movie

Final Score: ​

Ironically Malick has noticed this trend of alienating everyone but his core audience, and made it known that his next movie was going to have an actual script for once, and he won’t just have the actors ad lib their performances to beautiful nature shots. That doesn’t mean he won’t be arthouse and carrying philosophical messages throughout, as ALL his films have an element of that in then, but we are most likely going to see a more “structured” film from him in a few years. I personally want to like Malick more than I really do, because I recognize WHAT he’s trying to get across in his film. It’s just that the execution is so painfully disjointed and hyper ADHD in his editing style that they’re really just like watching a 2 hour+ acid trip with words. The audio and the video for the Blu-ray are certainly stunning, but sadly I can’t recommend the film unless you’re the person who loved The Tree of Life or Knight of Cups. Skip it, a muddled mess.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Natalie Portman
Directed by: Terrance Malick
Written by: Terrence Malick
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Broad Green Pictures
Rated: R
Runtime: 129 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 11th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Muddled Mess