I saw it in the theater. My friend hated it and was bored. I came home and put it in my Netflix queue to see again. I’ve seen all of Malick’s films, so I am looking at them not only singly but as a body (insert auteur theory here), and I thought, “Wow!”
My film class instructor, a veteran of 26 years of movie reviews in a major newspaper, thought it was a disappointment, a big letdown.
I saw brilliance.
Yes, it is overgrand—self-aggrandizing, in fact, and proud of itself, much like a big painting of Picasso—but that self-importance does not make it less impactful, only less modest.
So I don’t know. Critics were divided—polarized, in fact—in the same way. But I’d say watch it and decide for yourself.
And while you’re watching it, keep your eye on a motif that I noticed but that I didn’t see mentioned in any review: doors and windows. Then come back here and let’s talk about them.