Unveiling the Elusive: The Art of Penning the First Biography of Director Terrence Malick

In 1978, Terrence Malick was regarded as one of the most promising newcomers in Hollywood. His sophomore film Days of Heaven was a pure masterpiece following his outstanding 1973 first album Badlands . Malick had endless possibilities for his next project. However, according to the Hollywood legend, he vanished from public view.

Malick made a seemingly miraculous return to the big screen 20 years later for his third film The Thin Red Line . Today, the enigmatic filmmaker is now prolific. Between 2011 and 2019, he released six films. A far cry from the decades-long wait for his third feature.

Yet even with the increased output, Malick has remained unknowable. He gave his last interview in 1979 to French newspaper Le Monde. He’s since never given a direct quote to the press and the only picture he’s allowed to be released is a grainy promotional shot of him directing The Thin Red Line .

"The scene is illuminated by the warm glow of late afternoon. That special time known as 'magic hour.' This photograph was captured by his father, Emil Malick. Despite their disagreements, Terry continued to view himself through his dad's perspective," states the biography accompanying the image. Appearing midway through the book, this passage encapsulates much of John Bleasdale’s significant challenge: offering an understanding of both Malick’s human qualities and his distinctive style within the realm of cinema.

"The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick" offers an extensive look at the filmmaker’s journey, backed by thorough research evident through detailed insights into managing large teams both on-screen and off. Bleasdale enriches this work with excerpts from newspapers, comments from fellow workers, and his individual reflections on Malick's body of work.

This marks the first time Malick has been the subject of a biography. Consequently, one wonders if Bleasdale managed to secure direct access to Malick. Although he mentions discussions with longtime associates including production designer Jack Fisk and actors like Sean Penn, he dismisses the idea of having spent significant time with Malick, instead noting they only exchanged "very courteous emails."

However, "The Magic Hours" explores more aspects of Malick’s private life than any previous standalone piece. Can we confirm whether this data comes directly from him, despite not being explicitly attributed to him? The most I could gather from Bleasdale was: “If there were, I wouldn’t be able to disclose it.”

While the detailed biography of Malick's career is fascinating—especially the part about his challenging period during what are known as his "wilderness years" and how his difficult times with producers Bobby Geisler and John Roberdeau inspired him—it remains intriguing. Knight of Cups – the best sections of the book are those explicating how Malick’s private life intersected with his career.

Bleasdale’s biography portrays Malick as an affable and highly likable individual, equally inclined towards lighthearted banter and profound philosophical exploration. Despite acknowledging his introverted nature, this portrayal helps dispel the myths that have cast him as a recluse in Hollywood circles.

As these legends are dispelled, details regarding Malick’s domestic life emerge. His strained connection with his father, the absence of his siblings, and his romantic experiences all influence Bleasdale’s interpretations of his movies and how they correlate with their respective release times.

“Tragic brothers go throughout his films, as are problematic fathers,” he notes. But although details of his marriage to Michèle Monete bring light onto To The Wonder Bleasdale makes it evident that his body of work is not merely concealed autobiography.

“I think he very much wants to disguise his life. Purely because I think he feels that's a reductive reading,” Bleasdale says. Much like how his spiritual beliefs and early career in philosophy often serve as jumping off points to understand Malick’s filmography, Bleasdale thinks that misses the point. “I think he would feel that if someone takes [these things] as the key to all mythologies, as the key that will unlock all these films, it will stop them from experiencing them and just taking things out of them for themselves.”

If Malick deliberately avoids public attention in an effort similar to Barthes' 'Death of the Author,' aiming to prevent his personal life from overshadowing viewers' interpretation of his movies, wouldn't a biography contradict his creative intentions? Bleasdale suggests this might be a misinterpretation of Malick’s distance from media exposure.

Bleasdale states, "He will never pick up this book." He once mentioned that he would avoid therapy at all costs as it would drain his energy. Instead of opening up during interviews, he prefers to explore his inner self through his films.

Similar to his AFI classmate David Lynch’s well-known reluctance to explain the meanings behind his movies, Malick’s primary focus regarding his public persona is solely about his films.

Engaging with these films, be it through a subsequent discussion or even reading a biography, allows them to become part of our lives. "Ideally, any book about film should encourage readers to revisit the movies and appreciate them in greater depth," explains Bleasdale.

"The Magic Hours" lives up to this expectation. It fully immerses itself in how Malick integrates his personal story into a filmmaking approach that elevates the genre. The fact that it achieves this with Malick’s most contentious movies is considerably more noteworthy than doing so with his well-loved works. As Bleasdale outlines in his section on To The Wonder , there’s far more to his filmmaking than simply the narrative’s ostensible connection to his second wife.

It's peculiar. The film is ostensibly autobiographical yet it's presented entirely through Marina's [Olga Kurylenko]'s perspective. Ben Affleck only gets around three lines throughout the entire movie. It mostly focuses on her and Javier Bardem playing a roving priest." According to Bleasdale, Malick remains creatively innovative even when delving into personal narratives. "An autobiography doesn’t always mean exposing one’s innermost thoughts; rather, it involves attempting to understand others' viewpoints from our past experiences. This approach can be quite magnanimous.

If Malick’s initial trio of films were regarded as masterpieces and his fifth – which was equally autobiographical – The Tree of Life cemented his return with the Palme d’Or at Cannes and Oscar nominations, his latter films have been largely criticised as meandering bores filled with droning spirituality and perfume-advert filmography.

Bleasdale contends that despite being highly abstract, his work maintains an avant-garde artistic essence which remains just as impactful on cinema as his previous productions.

Out of Malick's seven films produced in this century, five were shot by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (known as Chivo). Their collaboration has shaped a distinctive visual style that characterizes their work together.

Over Chivo’s first film with Malick, The New World , they developed a "dogma" for filming that involved using "only available natural light," with strict prohibition against underexposure. Additional guidelines disallowed zooming, discouraging pans and tilts in favor of movements along the z-axis instead. This set of rules has become characteristic of Malick's movies—sometimes even bordering on caricature—but these principles have also seeped into mainstream modern cinematography. Lubezki received his third Academy Award for his contribution to this project. The Revenant , a movie featuring distinct bear claw marks inspired by Malick’s work.

Bleasdale mentions films and directors whom he believes show a clear influence of Malick’s work. Paul Thomas Anderson’s movies are among them. There Will Be Blood and The Master owe a significant debt to Malick’s historical works. From last year’s Oppenheimer , "You won't find that level of editing with two scenes split throughout the entire film; instead, most of the narrative relies on individual shots rather than complete scenes, excluding 'The Tree of Life.' Even this year's Academy Award nominee for Best Picture. Nickel Boys is “totally The Tree of Life in its handling of montage techniques and subjective camerawork.

If his work is unpalatable to a mainstream audience, it’s because it’s at the forefront “experimenting in cinema with the language of story”, Bleasdale says. All of this is in aid of telling stories that connect with people in new ways.

Reading "The Magic Hours" as a non-convert to Malick, Bleasdale makes a convincing human argument for Malick as a filmmaker and a man more engaging without the shroud of mystery populated by the press.

As he cites one of Malick’s coworkers: "We truly thought each morning at work that our aim was to revolutionize the cinematic language."

"The Magic Hours: The Films and Secret Life of Terrence Malick," penned by John Bleasdale, is out now.