Parents' Guide to

Song to Song

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Beautiful and poetic, but also challenging and mature.

Movie R 2017 129 minutes
Song to Song Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

LPfam
LPfam Parent of 11 and 14-year-old
July 11, 2023
age 14+
Song to song is one of the most unique and artistic films I have seen. This film is made in such a way that everyone will have a completely different opinion on it depending on where they are in life, what their values are and what they want from a movie. So, because of that I think that if you have not seen this film yet but still plan on seeing it they you should not read anything about it ahead of time and go in completely blind, watch it all in one sitting and see it by yourself in a theater to get the best possible viewing experience but I didn't do any of those things and still ended up really liking it so you can really do whatever.

This title has:

Educational value
1 person found this helpful.
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What's the Story?

In SONG TO SONG, struggling musician BV (Ryan Gosling) tries to find success in the Austin music scene. He meets mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender), who has another would-be songstress, Faye (Rooney Mara), already in his clutches. Faye falls for BV, while Cook eventually becomes interested in an attractive waitress, Rhonda (Natalie Portman), and sweeps her away into a world of glamor and music. But BV gets jealous and breaks up with Faye; both drift into the arms of other lovers, while their music careers sputter. Can they ever find happiness again?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Terrence Malick fans will be pleased, and detractors will be annoyed; this drama is filled with Malick's usual trademarks: beautiful wanderings, poetic thoughts, an existential portrait of longing. Song to Song is more an experimental movie than a plot-driven one, and -- like other Malick movies (especially The New World, The Tree of Life, and To the Wonder) -- the images capture a primal way of being. Humans interact with their surroundings, touching things, seeing things. Gosling seems particularly comfortable with this premise and his role; he's more playful than many other recent Malick leading men. And the cinematography by the great Emmanuel Lubezki beautifully captures natural light and gorgeous shapes and textures.

The soundtrack, meanwhile, is a tapestry of expressed thoughts and ideas, sometimes drifting away, sometimes alighting on something meaningful. So it's a clash of being and thinking, as well as a beautiful dance between them. But most modern viewers aren't trained to watch things like this; it's like a European art house movie from another era, comparable to late Antonioni, Welles, or Bresson but perhaps baffling and boring to newcomers. Malick is a giant who will one day find his place, but for now, only the initiated -- or the sublimely curious -- need apply.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Song to Song depicts sex. Do the sex scenes depict casual sex or loving sex? How are they different? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • What role do drinking, drugs, and smoking play in this world? Are these things glamorized? Are there consequences? Why is that important?

  • What do the characters learn here? Do they have a "character arc"? Is it OK if they don't?

  • What does "existential" mean? How does an existential movie compare to one with a concrete beginning, middle, and end?

  • How does Song to Song compare to Terrence Malick's other movies? What do you think makes people hold his work in such esteem?

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