Song to Song

Song to Song (2017) is a Terrence Malick drama you can watch online on iFILM, shot on location during actual music festivals in Austin, Texas — Austin City Limits, South by Southwest — with the crowds and the noise folded right into the fabric of the film.

Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling play Faye and BV, two struggling songwriters orbiting the same music mogul, Cook, played by Michael Fassbender with a coiled, unhurried menace. Cook draws people in — including Rhonda, a waitress played by Natalie Portman — because he can make careers, and careers cost something. Cate Blanchett and Patti Smith move through the edges of the story, giving it a weight the center sometimes doesn't hold on its own.

Malick works the way he always does: Emmanuel Lubezki's camera drifts between rooftops, beaches and concert floors while characters think aloud in voiceover. It is not a film for everyone. For those it reaches, though, the Austin light alone is worth it. Stream Song to Song (2017) online on iFILM.