Film Review: The Tree of Life
The Tree Of life is purposefully challenging. Terrance Malick almost dares his audience to leave the cinema.
The Tree Of Life is a polarising film. Some will adore it while others will be left scratching their head wondering what all the fuss is about. If they can stay awake.
Terrence Malick, known for The Thin Red Line has created something incredibly different with The Tree Of Life. Lightning fast edits accompany vague dialogue and seemingly irrelevant imagery within the first five minutes and don’t let up for the duration of the feature. Scenes constantly shift perspective, words are barely spoken and high profile actors are scarcely seen. As an audience member snores loudly behind me it is hard to decipher the director’s brilliant vision. Malick asks a lot of a modern audience’s short attention span. Tree of Life will be an incredibly challenging experience for some but one that is genuinely rewarding for those that stick with it.
To try and describe what The Tree Of Life is about is a daunting task. Malick ambitiously examines life and death, the universe and human evolution scattered between Jack’s (Sean Penn) childhood memories. Its scope is extraordinary and continually struggles to connect its different themes to its thin central narrative. Even still, Malick and his superb cast are able to engage their audience in a way rarely seen. In broad terms, The Tree Of Life is about evolution and growing up. Our planet’s growth, a boy’s journey into adolescence and a family’s evolution are all on show. More specifically, it’s about how our families mould us into who we are and continue to do so when we have children of our own. It is about our personal grasp of life, our longing for simpler times and our disenchantment of the world in adulthood and it’s about the insecurities we have as a child and as a parent. Everyone will take something different away from Malick’s new film and will connect with it differently.
Jack’s flashbacks and reflections on his childhood (where Jack is played by Hunter McCracken) in a 1950s American family make up the majority of the film. It is these incredibly well done scenes that people will find the most engaging. Jack along with his two younger brothers belong to the O’Brien family; a typical 50s American family with contrasting parents. The father (Brad Pitt) is a strong, dominant disciplinarian and the mother (Jessica Chastain) is a quiet, loving and gentle example for her boys. The contrast between parents and their different approaches to life is a major element in The Tree Of Life and while at times it comes off as contrived and pretentious the distinct ideals of ‘Grace’ and ‘Nature’ are a constant guiding force in the film.
The performances of all involved are raw and deeply touching. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain’s Mr and Mrs O’Brien are real and engaging and will no doubt resonate with a lot of people while Hunter McCracken’s portrayal of young Jack along with Malick’s choppy editing will transport many viewers back in time and will elicit emotions long thought gone in some people.
What makes The Tree Of Life so good isn’t necessarily Malick’s vision, that does come off as pretentious at times or the profoundness of his script, which at times leaves a bad taste. It is the ability of Malick to connect and engage his audience and make us question our own beliefs and existence that makes this ambitious modern masterpiece a much watch film.
Verdict. See this.
The Tree Of life is purposefully challenging. Terrance Malick almost dares his audience to leave the cinema. There is no conventional story and there are long stretches without any dialogue or any characters for that matter. All things that will require a lot of patience, but those willing to stick it out will find a lot to like about The Tree Of Life and some will I have no doubt find it life changing.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain.
Running Time: 138 minutes