It made me laugh when I saw this new trailer for Terrence Malick‘s To the Wonder first premiered on “Entertainment Tonight”. If you want to find a way to start with a theater filled with people excited to see a new film featuring Argo star and director, Ben Affleck, end with an theater filled with empty seats, sell this film to the general public and watch what happens. And if you consider yourself a member of the general public, don’t take that as an insult, this movie most likely isn’t for you.
As introspective and whispered as the film is, this new trailer is actually far more talky than any ten minute stretch in the film. The way it opens, with Affleck and co-star Olga Kurylenko whispering a few random thoughts, is really what you should expect. In fact, it’s almost a feature length version of those Brad Pitt Chanel N°5 commercials just with prettier pictures. Come to think of it, that’s exactly what it is… So, I made a few modifications of my own…
First the original trailer, second is my 40-second take on it with Pitt narrating instead of Affleck, Kurylenko and Javier Bardem.
Magnolia will release To the Wonder on April 12, you can read my full review of the film from Toronto last year right here.