The Tree of Life - Review

Terence Malick’s work is already synonymous with art house films at this point, so The Tree of Life being what is comes as no surprise to me. You’ve probably already heard about the beauty and the scope from the positive crowd, and the pretense and tedium from the other end. If you follow Brad Jones’s vlogs at all, you’ll know he doesn’t much care for films like this. I on the other hand, am neither for nor against them. If it does it well, I commend it and if it doesn’t then I don’t, simple.  The Tree of Life begins with a mysterious and mesmerizing light resembling a flame with Mrs. O’Brien debating two paths in life, that of grace and that of nature, we see her in the 1960s (played by the stunning Jessica Chastain) receiving a telegram informing her of the death of her nineteen year old son, R.L. Soon after, Mr. O’Brien (Brad Pitt) receives a call from his wife who notifies him of the recent tragedy. The family is now disheveled, and Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn) is lost in thought and internal debate between his mother and father’s paralleled but dissimilar philosophies: grace and nature.

In the midst of his inner disorder, Jack eyes a newly planted tree outside of his work place; he looks back at his childhood and family life. His father is strict, abrasive, and harsh while his mother is understanding and nurturing. We see life through the eyes of a child, and therefore empathize with Jack’s confusion and grudge toward his father and when he later goes through a rebellious phase. When Mr. O’Brien is away on business, it’s happy days for the children, they frolic, they play, and they make fun of their father’s authority like any group of kids would. As we progress through Jack’s experiences we as an audience are taken through a cosmic journey of life, including the formation of the universe and the transition from the molten and barren Earth to the evolution of sea life and the end of dinosaurs.

However, this trip is not completely devoted towards scientific fact, as the film also explores religious perception and the like. Perception is the operative word. We are not bound to a single way of thinking, for life in and of itself is a strange and interstellar series of events to which we are still learning so much about. It’s not about the ideals of an agnostic or a scientist or a priest, it’s about the mystery, and it’s about faith in the simplest sense, without obligation. You can debate the necessity of abundant symbolism until your blue in the face but the fact of the matter is that we ponder these mysteries every day, even when we’ve matured and seasoned after many a decade we still have questions unanswered.

On a technical standpoint, I’m surprised a film like this wasn’t shot or presented in 3-D, because the cinematography and craft are stunning, coupled by spectacular visuals and some mesmerizing choice of music pieces, one example being the best iteration of Lacrimosa I’ve ever heard, Lacrimosa 2 by Zbigniew Preisner, it’s so beautiful it almost haunts me. This is less a film and more an orchestra, an abundance of scenery that has continuously echoed throughout every corner of my mind. This must have been quite a theater experience. The performances are commendable, thankfully not being overshadowed by the aesthetic or point (for the most part). I praise Jessica Chastain for her angelic portrayal and Brad Pitt for his seamless model of the times. With respect to the late Stanley Kubrick, The Tree of Life is a film much like 2001: A Space Odyssey, but handled better. 8 out of 10.