After averaging around one film per decade during his 40-plus-year career, beloved director of ethereal freeform dramas and whispered voice-overs, Terrence Malick, recently decided to increase his productivity by a factor of ten. Previously, he waited between five and 20 years between projects. However, he releases the mostly disappointing “To The Wonder” in 2012, a mere year after his masterwork “The Tree of Life." The Christian Bale-led “Knight of Cups” will presumably hit theaters in 2015, while Malick has another untitled movie cooking too. TWO Malick films in the SAME year!? Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria! (And oh, we failed to mention his brewing documentary "Voyage Of Time" too).
Along with his newfound directorial speed, Malick has been working hard as a producer recently as well. He has his name attached as producer on five features to be released in 2014 and 2015. In fact, the trailer for “The Better Angels," the Malick-produced directorial debut of A.J. Edwards, editor of “To The Wonder” and the aforementioned “Untitled Terrence Malick Project," has just hit the interwebs.
“The Better Angels” tells the tale of Abraham Lincoln’s childhood growing up in harsh conditions in Indiana, and stars Jason Clarke, Diane Kruger, Wes Bentley, and Brit Marling, with Braydon Denney as Abe. Despite the impressive cast full of indie favorites, “The Better Angels” looks too obviously like a film made by a Terrence Malick understudy. Malick’s many distinct visual cues and camera moves are on display here, perhaps with a lower budget and an unshakable student film aura. Of course, it’s entirely possible that the trailer does not do the final product justice. Watch below and see for yourself when it opens on November 7th.
