Common Sense Media Review
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Beautifully filmed romance chooses style over substance.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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To the Wonder
What's the Story?
A man (Ben Affleck) and a woman (Olga Kurylenko) meet and fall in love in France, but after they move together to Oklahoma, they find that living together is harder work in director Terrence Malick's TO THE WONDER. The film features a series of loosely connected scenes with stunning cinematography and little dialog. The story is told through voiceover (with some lines in French, Spanish, and Italian), as viewers watch their relationship bloom and then falter. Javier Bardem plays a priest going through a crisis of conscience, and Rachel McAdams is an old flame who briefly comes between the central couple in this film that examines the nature of love and life.
Is It Any Good?
No one could accuse To the Wonder of being visually uninteresting. At times the cinematography is so exquisite -- the movement of the grass, the way the light filters through the clouds -- that you almost forget to catch a breath. It's a tone poem, evocative and awash with feeling. But a movie doesn't just transport with images; the story, whether complex or simple, has to work, too.
And this is where To the Wonder falters. What is it saying about the nature of love? That it's fleeting? That it twirls, as one character constantly does, leading nowhere? That it's ephemeral? But who are the people inhabiting the story? Why should we care? In the end, we don't, much -- not about the man who seems so one-dimensional that we can't understand why two arresting women would flit in and out of his life, nor about the women themselves who are either so flimsily drawn (MacAdams' character) or beautifully played but more a projection than an actual substantive character (Kurylenko). To the Wonder doesn't leave viewers wondering, as great movies do, about its mysteries. It just leaves us befuddled and not much motivated to figure out why.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way that To the Wonder is presented -- with voiceovers instead of dialog, and short, unconnected scenes. Does this make the story harder to follow? More or less effective?
Why do you think the central relationship falls apart? How does this compare to other romantic dramas you've seen on TV and in the movies?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 12, 2013
- On DVD or streaming : August 6, 2013
- Cast : Ben Affleck , Javier Bardem , Olga Kurylenko , Rachel McAdams
- Director : Terrence Malick
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Magnolia Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Arts , Faith ( Christianity ) , Family Stories , Friendship , STEM ( Nature ) , Travel
- Run time : 112 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some sexuality/nudity
- Last updated : September 6, 2025
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