‘KNIGHT OF CUPS’

Another character, grasping at a desire for enlightenment, muses: “There’s somewhere else we need to get to. I know it.” The movie even opens with a reading from the most famous of Christian allegories, John Bunyan’s 17th century “A Pilgrim’s Progress.” The passage includes a reference to “the similitude of a dream,” and that may be the single best phrase to describe Malick’s woozy filmmaking style, which seems to convey multiple points of view — that of character, observer and filmmaker — at the same time. (As usual, Malick’s genius cinematographer is Emmanuel Lubezki, winner of back-to-back-to-back Oscars for “Gravity,” “Birdman” and “The Revenant.”) “To the Wonder” placed Ben Affleck in working-class Oklahoma, but “Knight of Cups” is based within the milieu of Malick’s screen collaborators. Bale stars as Rick, a successful Hollywood screenwriter and “womanizer” (where else but in a Malick film would this word be used unironically?) with a classic Lincoln Continental convertible, an apparently all-black wardrobe, a disturbed brother (Wes Bentley) and a succession of knockout girlfriends, including a model (Freida Pinto), a wise stripper (Teresa Palmer), a punkish free spirit (Imogen Poots), a doctor (Cate Blanchett) and a married woman (Natalie Portman). Variously referred to as a “knight,” “pilgrim” and “stranger in a strange land,” Rick has it all, so to speak (one interlude takes place at a party where the guests include Ryan O’neal and Joe Manganiello); yet he longs for something more. An ex-monk offers this advice: “Pay attention to this moment. Everything is there. Perfect and complete.”

Rick’s malaise might be described unsympathetically as a First World problem: This is a character who doesn’t have to worry about comfort, health, meals or companionship; he has the luxury of worrying about his spirit because his body’s needs are well in hand. But Rick’s privilege is symptomatic of his dislocation; at times, he wanders the fake streets of a studio back lot, and squares where the natural world has been entirely covered by concrete and steel. Humankind’s failure to be a responsible steward of its environment is another of Malick’s themes, which may be why the director includes a shot of the aurora borealis, as seen from space: The beauty of this natural light display is edifying, humbling and shaming. Rated R for some nudity, sexual content and profanity.

COURTESY of BROAD GREEN PICTURES Christian Bale (right), with Cate Blanchett, heads the cast of Terrence Malick’s “Knight of Cups.”