What do you give the man who has everything? Filmmaker Terrence Malick would give the guy a soul. Malick’s new film, Knight of Cups, features a haunted Christian Bale as Rick, a man who ponders his mid-life place in the universe as he drifts through L.A. streets, movie studios, elegant architectural spaces, wanders across deserts, and frolics on the beaches of Malibu. He is a successful screenwriter, but lacks inspiration and purpose. Rick’s ex-wife (Cate Blanchett) is a nurse who helps hard cases at a local clinic. A woman of cool beauty and modest integrity, she sees through Rick’s shallow surface. Meanwhile, he has had an affair with an alluring married woman (Natalie Portman) and has gotten her pregnant. In an attempt to do the right thing, he declares his love for her, but she’ll have none of it. He continues to party with prostitutes, cavort with nude dancers in READ MORE |