The Sea of Trees

Since establishing himself as a worthy dramatic actor, Matthew McConaughey has had a career out of characters in deep introspection, men questioning the meaning and mysteries of the world around them. He did it best with Rust Cohle, he did it again with Cooper in Interstellar, he did it in those Lincoln commercials, and there were hints of it in ‘Free State of Jones.’ And now McConaughey is on another spiritual journey, this time in a forest.

When Gus Van Sant’s latest feature The Sea of Trees debuted at Cannes nearly a year ago, expectations were high. A skilled actor’s director, Van Sant’s collaboration with buzzy star Matthew McConaughey was presumed to be an insta-hit and a possible Oscar contender in the making. McConaughey’s professional capital has never been higher, and the Cannes set has always been fond of Van Sant, awarding him the Palme d’Or for his school-shooting drama Elephant in 2003. So it came as that much more of a shock when audiences roundly rejected The Sea of Trees, complete with booing and walkouts. (Though that sounds a bit more dramatic than it is. Cannes audiences love big gestures; nearly everything gets either a standing ovation or jeering, and in the rarest of occasions, both.)

The drama finds McConaughey portraying a wayward businessman who travels to Aokigahara to end his life, but before he can do so, he meets a like-minded soul (Ken Watanabe) who’s come for the same reason.