Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- dreamy
- melancholic
- sensuous
- solitary viewing
- late night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually intoxicating and philosophically ambitious, but divided over its thin characterization, repetitive structure, and elusive narrative.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Malick builds the film from fluid camera movement, voice-over-like interiority, and loosely connected chapter episodes rather than tightly causal scenes.
Rick's successful screenwriting career is set against celebrity culture, money, temptation, and a persistent sense of inner vacancy.
Eight tarot-named chapters and a prologue organize Rick's encounters with people from his life as stages in an unresolved personal search.
Rick repeatedly seeks temporary solace through women while remaining unable to establish durable connection or purpose.
Films like Knight of Cups, and why
The Tree of Life
shared impressionistic visual language, spiritual alienation, and fragmented philosophical drama
La La Land
shared poetic interiority, romantic disconnection, and Los Angeles artistic milieu
The Face of Another
shared meditative crisis of identity, drifting relationships, and formally unconventional storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- Terrence Malick
- Release Date
- 2015-09-10
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (744)
Cast
- Christian Bale
- Cate Blanchett
- Natalie Portman
- Brian Dennehy
- Antonio Banderas
- Freida Pinto
- Wes Bentley
- Isabel Lucas
- Teresa Palmer
- Imogen Poots
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Knight of Cups about?
- A successful Los Angeles screenwriter drifts through seductive encounters and family grief while searching for meaning beneath Hollywood's glittering emptiness.
- What is Knight of Cups like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Knight of Cups as glacial, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Knight of Cups violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Knight of Cups as mild.
- What did critics think of Knight of Cups?
- Critics broadly found the film visually intoxicating and philosophically ambitious, but divided over its thin characterization, repetitive structure, and elusive narrative.
- Which films are like Knight of Cups?
- Films with a similar feel include The Tree of Life, La La Land, and The Face of Another.
- How long is Knight of Cups?
- Knight of Cups runs 118 minutes.
- Where can I watch Knight of Cups?
- In United States, Knight of Cups streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.
