The Tree of Life will sharply divide its audience into two camps. Those who think it is load of pretentious bullshit, with Kodak moments of gorgeous cinematography and voices whispering in the dark, and those who worship it as a transcendent work of art.
Directed and written by the great American director Terrence Malick(Badlands, The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven) it's not an easy film to summarize. It's both the story of a family growing up in Texas in the 1950s, seen mainly through the eyes of the eldest of three boys, and a powerful, elegiac, haunting look back on the journey of life itself. It's both about a family with a complicated over-bearing father(Brad Pitt), a generous loving mother(Jessica Chastain), a rebellious 13 year old (Hunter McCraken) and about nothing less than seeking answers for the ultimate questions.
But narrative structure is a nebulous thing in this film. When the mother wonders Why? when mourning the loss of a loved one, the film goes in a 20 minutes explanation, depicting no less than the
formation of the universe; the birth of the planet; the dinosaur age; and then drops back in on the family in 1950's
Waco, Texas. When the boy as a man(Sean Penn) wanders lost in a desert of skyscrapers and his modern life and asks "How did I lose you", the film jumps back into his life as a boy.
The fact that the film has such a atypical structure will drive most people, who are used to having their art spoon fed, nuts. For those people who only want to be entertained and escape, this film is the opposite, it may bore and challenge. It's a courageous thing to attempt in this era of a to b causality and films that run all over the place and say nothing. We've been conditioned to expect certain things in a film. Mallick doesn't give a rip about that, he's out to make a true work of art, no matter who it loses along the way.
The acting in Tree is universally superb, from the boys, to Chastain, to, in what is little more than a cameo, Penn. And then there's Brad Pitt, whio I've criticized as either hyper or wooden. Here, Malick gets the performance of a lifetime out of him. Bravo. Pitt's multi-layered character, who dreamt of being a great musician, but got sidetracked into working at a typical job is a study in understatement. He has invention patents and is always trying to become his own boss, mumbling, "they have money. Of course, they inherited" about the neighbors. It's a portrait of a frustrated middle-aged man. The role was apparently set for Health Ledger, but not even he could have given as much here as Pitt. Brad has never been this good.
Tree of Life is rife with absolutely stunning, jaw-dropping images. Although some of the nature shots occasionally feel a little too much like watching the Discover channel, the cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki(Children of Men) is enthralling. The images wash over you, link together with the soaring music throughout. Malick
Many viewers will hate The Tree of Life, will find it confusing and not understand it. Watching a film that uses symbolism, even surrealism, whispered cosmic questions backed by naturalistic images and soaring operatic music is not the same thing as watching a Transformer tear down a skyscraper.
But it is a more important thing. For anyone brave enough to watch this film: for god's sake, turn off the phone, send the kids away, remove all distractions and let it wash over you. I don't even know that eating popcorn is a good idea!
I found The Tree of Life to be a little confusing, occasionally slow and ponderous in its pacing. But who said you had to understand everything in a film? I also found The Tree of Life to be one of the most profoundly moving films I've ever seen. It is in, my view, a transcendent and timeless piece of art. I will carry with me the last ten minutes of this film, where all the characters wander a beach and find each other, all the days of my life.
I don't know that Mallick answers the question his characters whisper in the film, asking God, Where were you? What are we to you? But he presents those question through the eyes of 1950's Texas family, in a most poignant way. This is not a film that will enjoy monetary or popular success, it will enjoy cult status and be the crowning achievement of the great Terrence Malick's career.
Rating:
presentation 33
character: 31
plot: 30
Total : 94
