Song to SongA wanderer should have a compass; without it, you drift into dangerous waters. Song to Song is an existential drama and complex love story about a group of people involved in the music scene in Austin, Texas, and the emotional and spiritual crises they experience in their relationships. What begins as a romance between Faye (Rooney Mara) and "BV" (Ryan Gosling), two aspiring musicians looking to make it big, develops into a love triangle when hotshot, narcissistic producer, Cook (Michael Fassbender), seduces Faye, and scatters her sense of direction to the four winds.
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Written and directed by Terrence Malick, Song to Song continues the filmmaker's unique and poetic expression of emotion and narrative through editing that feels like a shared dream, drifting from one narrator to the next. This is combined with an improvisational, cinéma vérité aesthetic, appealing to the audience's impulse to project their own interpretations and emotions onto the story. As in his prior works--like Knight of Cups and To the Wonder--this subjectivity makes the individual experience something that could vary dramatically from person to person. With that in mind, I found Song to Song to be a morality play at its core. Similar to the crisis in Knight of Cups, the world of rock and roll in Song to Song is depicted as illustrious and extravagant and multi-million dollar industry men like Cook are scions of this realm of decadence and moral vacuousness. It could be argued that Cook represents the center of this universe--he'd like to think so. He alters the lives of all he comes into contact with; he influences and uses people, and those he exploits invariably suffer. Cook exists as a kind of Mephistopheles in the world of Song to Song; he promises record deals not because he's interested in talent, but because he knows that it gets what he desires, some self-serving vice, generally in the form of women or money. It becomes clear early on that Faye had a crush on the powerful Cook when she was a young receptionist in his employ. Now that she is in a relationship with BV, Cook's ego takes control; he lures BV into his circle with the prospect of fame and fortune by promoting him as a musician. While keeping BV busy, Cook can take advantage of Faye's loneliness and lingering feelings, and he seduces her. Cook maintains the fiction that they are friends, and almost never betrays that he is sleeping with Faye.
The key players in Song to Song narrate the film with their contemplative inner thoughts; the rare instance where Cook offers narrative insight comes when he ominously considers how perfect BV and Faye are for one another while they play around a step pyramid. A short time later, he offers her a record contract in a decisive move that he knows will unravel their love. Cook is depicted as a maelstrom of selfishness and amoral disregard for the welfare of others. Dejected after Faye leaves him, he seduces a beautiful ex-kindergarten teacher turned waitress named Rhonda (Natalie Portman). His efforts to drag her down into his realm of debauchery and vice are so intense, that it seems almost hateful. He buys her love by building her mother, Miranda (Holly Hunter), a new home, with the expectation that Rhonda will become his bride. Cook perverts this bond, making her little more than an ornament in his life, a perennial party girl who he feeds honey-dipped hallucinogenic mushrooms and coerces into a ménage à trois. One of the most heartbreaking moments is when Rhonda has a conversation with the escort Cook hired for them, who tells her that her dream is to be a teacher, and that being a prostitute is a means to an end; the tragic irony is not lost on Rhonda. Cook emerges as an aspect of the devil; Rhonda, a Christian, takes Cook with her to church, who looks so visibly uncomfortable to be there, that it comes as no surprise when he abandons her there a short time later. Rhonda represents Cook's desire to revenge himself against not just Faye, but all goodness in the world that he cannot comprehend or appreciate. He is lost to the soulless void of business and greed at the expense of real human compassion--something he intimates to BV in a moment of self-reflection earlier in the film.
Cook may be the catalyst for all of the suffering in Song to Song, but for a film without a traditional main character, it could still be argued that Faye is the true protagonist. Song to Song begins with her narration, claiming that she needs a degree of violence during sex to feel it anymore. Even though she carries on an affair with Cook, the guilt eats away at her, and she conceals her sin from BV. There is an authenticity to their love, something enriching and healthy, but Faye has an urge to punish herself for some perceived transgression. Faye meets with her father two times, and in both instances, Faye is the one who is tense or distraught. She claims that she wants her father to be proud of her, regretting that she failed compared to her sisters, briefly shown with their normal-looking families. Faye feels guilty for her desire to explore the big, scary world on her terms; she may have been dissuaded by her father at some point. Faye appears to be the youngest sibling, but she is inquisitive and intelligent. Many scenes in Song to Song feature cameos and dialogues with real-life rock stars--from Iggy Pop to Flea. Faye spends several scenes carrying on heart-to-heart conversations with Patti Smith, learning lessons about life and love from her. After Faye leaves Cook, she finds she is unable to continue a relationship with BV, their trust having been shattered by her deception. Faye continues to try to discover herself, becoming involved with another woman from France named Zoey (Bérénice Marlohe). But Faye's wanderlust feels fruitless and arbitrary, as though she were running from the truth of her feelings for BV--and by running, she can escape the pain. BV also tries to become involved with other women, desperate to forget about Faye. First is a rock star named Lykke (Lykke Li), who intrigues BV with her ethereal charm and resemblance to Faye--but ultimately the two part on the tarmac of an airport in a scene which has echoes of Casablanca. Next is a woman named Amanda (Cate Blanchett), who is smart, pretty, and elegant--everything a man could hope for. But when BV invites Amanda to dinner with his mother, Judy (Linda Emond), it becomes clear that despite their efforts, it is a hollow relationship. Similar to Faye, BV's searches for love in a subconscious attempt to numb the pain he feels from a schism between him and his invalid father, suffering in the final stages of some terminal disease. This soul-searching by BV and Faye is less a matter of seeking than running, a fact they must each come to terms with in order to find true happiness.
Recommended for: Fans of a dramatic romance presented with an emphasis on the experiential and experimental, of visual and auditory sensation over hard plot in order to more intimately engage the audience. Song to Song uses selections of music to accent the backdrop, adding resonance, and also to tap into our subconscious, like a waking dream or a fleeting memory.
The key players in Song to Song narrate the film with their contemplative inner thoughts; the rare instance where Cook offers narrative insight comes when he ominously considers how perfect BV and Faye are for one another while they play around a step pyramid. A short time later, he offers her a record contract in a decisive move that he knows will unravel their love. Cook is depicted as a maelstrom of selfishness and amoral disregard for the welfare of others. Dejected after Faye leaves him, he seduces a beautiful ex-kindergarten teacher turned waitress named Rhonda (Natalie Portman). His efforts to drag her down into his realm of debauchery and vice are so intense, that it seems almost hateful. He buys her love by building her mother, Miranda (Holly Hunter), a new home, with the expectation that Rhonda will become his bride. Cook perverts this bond, making her little more than an ornament in his life, a perennial party girl who he feeds honey-dipped hallucinogenic mushrooms and coerces into a ménage à trois. One of the most heartbreaking moments is when Rhonda has a conversation with the escort Cook hired for them, who tells her that her dream is to be a teacher, and that being a prostitute is a means to an end; the tragic irony is not lost on Rhonda. Cook emerges as an aspect of the devil; Rhonda, a Christian, takes Cook with her to church, who looks so visibly uncomfortable to be there, that it comes as no surprise when he abandons her there a short time later. Rhonda represents Cook's desire to revenge himself against not just Faye, but all goodness in the world that he cannot comprehend or appreciate. He is lost to the soulless void of business and greed at the expense of real human compassion--something he intimates to BV in a moment of self-reflection earlier in the film.
Cook may be the catalyst for all of the suffering in Song to Song, but for a film without a traditional main character, it could still be argued that Faye is the true protagonist. Song to Song begins with her narration, claiming that she needs a degree of violence during sex to feel it anymore. Even though she carries on an affair with Cook, the guilt eats away at her, and she conceals her sin from BV. There is an authenticity to their love, something enriching and healthy, but Faye has an urge to punish herself for some perceived transgression. Faye meets with her father two times, and in both instances, Faye is the one who is tense or distraught. She claims that she wants her father to be proud of her, regretting that she failed compared to her sisters, briefly shown with their normal-looking families. Faye feels guilty for her desire to explore the big, scary world on her terms; she may have been dissuaded by her father at some point. Faye appears to be the youngest sibling, but she is inquisitive and intelligent. Many scenes in Song to Song feature cameos and dialogues with real-life rock stars--from Iggy Pop to Flea. Faye spends several scenes carrying on heart-to-heart conversations with Patti Smith, learning lessons about life and love from her. After Faye leaves Cook, she finds she is unable to continue a relationship with BV, their trust having been shattered by her deception. Faye continues to try to discover herself, becoming involved with another woman from France named Zoey (Bérénice Marlohe). But Faye's wanderlust feels fruitless and arbitrary, as though she were running from the truth of her feelings for BV--and by running, she can escape the pain. BV also tries to become involved with other women, desperate to forget about Faye. First is a rock star named Lykke (Lykke Li), who intrigues BV with her ethereal charm and resemblance to Faye--but ultimately the two part on the tarmac of an airport in a scene which has echoes of Casablanca. Next is a woman named Amanda (Cate Blanchett), who is smart, pretty, and elegant--everything a man could hope for. But when BV invites Amanda to dinner with his mother, Judy (Linda Emond), it becomes clear that despite their efforts, it is a hollow relationship. Similar to Faye, BV's searches for love in a subconscious attempt to numb the pain he feels from a schism between him and his invalid father, suffering in the final stages of some terminal disease. This soul-searching by BV and Faye is less a matter of seeking than running, a fact they must each come to terms with in order to find true happiness.
Recommended for: Fans of a dramatic romance presented with an emphasis on the experiential and experimental, of visual and auditory sensation over hard plot in order to more intimately engage the audience. Song to Song uses selections of music to accent the backdrop, adding resonance, and also to tap into our subconscious, like a waking dream or a fleeting memory.