By Jason Haskins
Beautiful. Grand. Elegant. Confusing. Subtle. Epic. Enigmatic. Exciting. Scary. These are all words to describe Terrence Malick’s newest film, The Tree of Life.
Brad Pitt stars as the patriarch of a ‘perfect suburban family’ in 1950s Texas as he tries to teach his young sons the ins and outs of life while unaware of how harsh he is. At the center of it all, his eldest son who loses a sense of adolescent idealism and innocence.
This follows him into adulthood where he cannot find a faith, a way of life, or true happiness (Sean Penn). Interspersed throughout these brief periods of plot are plodding journeys into God, nature, and the meaning of life, which more or less remain unanswered as the credits roll.
There were so many walkouts and people crying foul during this film’s initial release that most cinemas had to put a precursory warning before it was shown that explained how unconventional and abstract the movie was. Those unaccustomed to Malick’s style or that of experimental/existential filmmaking, I’m sure, were unable to cope with the over two-hour running time and lack of cohesive structure.
However, this does not make the movie as miserable of an experience as most would lead you to believe. While the storyline itself isn’t one of the stronger suits, the intentions behind it are gloriously original and captivating. The Tree of Life reminded me of the type of existentialism Ingmar Bergman brought up in many of his works and Malick strikes a match between his old style circa Days of Heaven with somewhere in Federico Fellini’s sensibility and it all comes together extraordinarily.
There are a lot of moments in the film with monologues juxtaposed against large sweeping landscapes, which lends more credit to a documentary-like atmosphere. One of the special effects designers from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey lent his handiwork to this film, which means theres a lot of the science-fictiony spacey parts of the film, seeking to explain the origins of the universe and how it reflects our own development as a species. These special effects are absolutely gorgeous and remind me of the likes Darren Aronofsky used in his monumental film, The Fountain.
Most importantly, the sound design aids in how this film comes across. Grandiose pieces of Brahms and Mozart amongst many others, which grace the screen in these fantastic compliments of the visual pieces Malick introduces with the help of his cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki who he worked with prior on The New World (amongst his other credits, which include Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien).
This is singularly the most important use of music alongside electrifyingly subtle performances since the silent film era. At the beginning of the home video release there’s a message saying that the filmmakers intended this to be seen loudly and this speaks volumes to the actual experience where each texture represented from the crunching of the leaves to the unbearable silence between a family and the beautiful classic musical play such a crucial role.
The movie is definitely quite subtle and not as straightforward a film as one we’ve seen for quite some time. The movie relies on the performances of the cast, from Brad Pitt’s controlling and scary bravado to Jessica Chastain’s almost virginal and pure matriarchal role. The sons are also very good actors, but again: the script doesn’t really give them much to do except reactions and intense understatement around every corner. This fragility makes each scene stand out. Sean Penn was really the weakest link as he mostly just walked around looking sad in his brief two or three scenes, but I don’t fault him as the script doesn’t give him much to do—something he would later blast this film for in the press for.
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was definitely a clear influence of Malick’s direction (at least to this movie watcher), but he and Lubezki also seemed to draw upon Barry Lyndon with their impressive use of natural lighting in a way I haven’t seen as efficiently since that film. Each scene is so gorgeously photographed that each little frame could stand on its own as a work of art. While some of the film tiptoes on the tightrope of pretentiousness, it’s all cleverly tied around the themes of life, death, birth, destruction, pain, and God’s unflinching examination of it all.
Films like The Tree of Life don’t come around very often. Terrence Malick’s career is full of masterpieces, but this is honestly the one piece that I hope he’s remembered for because of his unwary look of themes that haven’t been explored so theoretically soundly in this context. Malick is a visual genius and his flair is running on full cylinders here. There’s no question he deserved the Palm D’Or in 2011—this is an amazing achievement of sight and sound and one of the best films I’ve ever had the chance to experience.
Acting Score - 4 (out of 5)
Directing Score - 5 (out of 5)
Cinematography - 5 (out of 5)
Editing - 5 (out of 5)
Overall - 5 (out of 5)
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