The problem is the characters have zero dimension and the actors aren't given a chance to develop chemistry. So it's just people standing around, running, and staring into the middle distance. Love is only present because they keep saying love in the narration. We never see it.

All other Malick films are far superior in terms of character development. People compare this one to Tree of Life, but Pitt, Chastain, and most certainly the kids had interactions, emotional complexity, and a series of tangible life events we could root their growth and development in.

For me, To The Wonder has none of that. At all. I really wanted to be taken by it, as I've been very taken with every Malick I've ever seen.

This one, I nearly walked out.