Knight of Cups trailer: Christian Bale a little Patrick Bateman-y in new Terrence Malick film

'You don't want love, you want a love experience'

(FilmNation)

2014 has been a pretty dry year for film, but things are looking up next year, with Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups being among its pearls.

In the first trailer we see Christian Bale down sword and loincloth and return to an almost American Psycho-esque role, partying for the sake of partying and spectating on his own decline.

What's with the name? It's allegorical and quite lovely:

'Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep.

Rick's (Christian Bale) father used to read this story to him as a boy.

The road to the East stretches out before him. Will he set forth?'

This is all we have to go on, but suggests that Bale's character is sucked into the hollow hedonism of LA and must fight to extricate himself.

Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Antonio Banderas and Imogen Poots also appear in the film, which will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in January.

The trailer has the dreamlike quality we come to expect from Malick, who has previously directed The Tree of Life and The Thin Red Line.