Rated PG-13 (Some Thematic Material)
Running Time: 2 Hours & 19 Minutes
Cast-
Brad Pitt-Mr. O'Brien
Jessica Chastain-Mrs. O'Brien
Sean Penn-Jack O’Brien
Hunter McCracken-Young Jack O’Brien
Laramie Eppler-R.L.
Tye Sheridan-Steve
Fiona Shaw-Grandmother O’Brien
Joanna Going-Jack's Wife
Directed by Terrence Malick
 |
| Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," one of the best, and most polarizing, films of 2011. |
Much praise was heaped on last year’s
“Inception” directed by Christopher Nolan from film critics and audiences,
although a small subset were frustrated and baffled as they struggled to grasp
what Nolan was trying to get across about the dream-world. Structurally,
“Inception” was rather straight-forward as much of how the dream-world worked
was spelled out in the film’s first forty minutes. It did demand more attention
from the usual summer blockbuster but the ending was what inspired fierce
debate. Nolan’s film is a cake-walk compared to Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of
Life.” Malick’s career has spanned close to four decades with his directorial
debut, “Badlands,” in 1973 (he had previously made a short film titled “Lanton
Mills” in 1969, although like the director, it is rarely-seen and not readily
available) and since then he has only directed five films. His sixth feature
has just finished filming but the title or what the film is even about is
anyone’s guess. “The Tree of Life” is one of the most polarizing films of 2011
but it is also a thematically rich cinematic experience that ponders the
imponderable and asks questions that has eluded even the most ardent
philosophers. It is a film that will inspire fierce debate as to what point
Malick is trying to reach but make no mistake, “The Tree of Life” is a film
that has to be seen as it defies all conventional means of film-making to
create something that is less a film and more of a hauntingly beautiful
symphony that washes over you.
It’s hard to define the story in “The Tree
of Life” by traditional means but the main thrust of the narrative concerns a
married architect named Jack O'Brien (Sean Penn) as he reflects back on his
childhood living with a domineering father (Brad Pitt) and a religious mother
(Jessica Chastain) in a small, rural southern town in the United States during
the 1950s. “The Tree of Life” will inspire two extremes—either you’ll see it as
a masterpiece of cinema or a big pretentious nothing. While I fall into the
former camp, both sides can be easily argued. The film really demands the
utmost attention and effectively requires multiple viewings to grasp the full
picture of Malick’s canvass. The central question is what the heck this film is
about and many critics have been fumbling around in their own reviews. The
following is my interpretation based on my sole viewing although it is by no
means the right interpretation. In
fact, there is no right or wrong answer here.
A good starting is the title and for me,
the film is about life, from the smallest moments to the most grandiose moments
and the sum total of all these experiences. It opens with a passage from the Book of Job that quotes God, ‘Where were
you when I laid the foundations of the earth…when the morning stars sang
together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?’ and indeed the film does
explore the existence and meaning of God but comes to the conclusion that such
a divine being is incomprehensible, unknowable, and indefinable in the grand
scheme of things. The first hour of the film is what will try most people’s
patience as we’re shown that Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien’s son has suddenly passed
away, although the specifics are kept from us. Does it even matter though? Next
we’re treated to a series of breath-taking images of the birth of the universe,
majestic shots of planets that drive home how insignificant we are in the
vastness of space. The evolution of our planet is depicted with photorealistic
dinosaurs rummaging about in their natural habitat to their demise as an
asteroid collides into the Earth. All this is accompanied by a whispered
narration from Chastain and an operatic score that is part-adapted from
classical composers to part-composed by Alexandre Desplat. These sequences often
feel less of a film and more of a visual opera and it’s good to just sit back
and let it wash over you. "The Tree of Life" really is one of the
most visually stunning films I’ve seen and it does this without throwing money away
and bombarding us with glossy explosions or effects. The cinematography is by
Emmanuel Lubezki and each shot is framed with a purpose. It’s also heavy on the
symbolism. Trees are a reoccurring motif and represent life but are also
strong, immovable—qualities that Mr. O’Brien wishes his son to have. Sean
Penn’s grown-up Jack wanders aimlessly through buildings with innumerable
windows—he can see through but is unable to cross the barrier as he struggles
to reconcile his feelings with his parents.
The second hour concerns Jack as a child,
played with excellence by Hunter McCracken, and it’s made up of a series of
moments that I believe all people can relate to. Everyone has that domineering
parent that seems unusually cruel to their eyes and another parent whom you run
to as refuge. Jack’s mother narrates, ‘there are two ways through life: the way
of nature and the way of grace’ and this is presented by his mother and his
father, respectively. Mrs. O’Brien places her faith in God but her husband
views that to get ahead in the world you have to be ruthless, almost to the
point of uncaring. There’s this one scene where Mr. O’Brien orders one of his
sons to not speak for thirty minutes unless he has something to say and in a
whisper, the son tells him to ‘be quiet…please.’ The father cannot believe what
he has heard and grabs the son, preparing to hit him. Jack stands up to defend
his brother but is thrown in a closet. Although it may seem abusive to a casual
viewer, Mr. O’Brien’s world view and attitude stems not from hatred but of
frustration, of broken dreams. His goal was to be a classical pianist but was
‘side-tracked’ and settled for a factory job to support his family. Jack’s
experiences death and suffering and despite being a child, seems to have a
crisis of faith as he whispers why God would let a young boy drown for no
reason at all. Similar sentiments are mentioned as Chastain grapples with the
loss of her son. As an adult, Jack struggles with the resentment and love he
feels for his father and on a beach full of lost souls, comes to accept him, although
how he reaches this epiphany isn’t made entirely clear (or maybe I missed it)
and is one of the rare weak points of the film. Despite the majestic quality of
the first hour, the small moments that made up Jack’s life in the second are
just as important, if not more so, and the totality of these experiences is
what makes you the kind of person you are.
The acting is of the highest caliber,
although the film features very minimal dialogue. Brad Pitt is amazing as the
domineering father and perfectly grasps his character's internal frustrations
as he takes it out on his family. However, the standouts are Jessica Chastain
and Hunter McCracken, whose lines only fill a handful of pages. Since so little
is actually said, the two have to convey what they’re feeling through subtle
and unsubtle expressions. It takes you deeper in the film as a lot of the
family tension is never spoken of. I imagine Pitt and Chastain will garner some
nominations as awards season ramps up in the fall. Sean Penn has little to no
lines and only appears in the scenes that bookend the film. He spends most of
the time wondering the streets as he reflects back on his life.
“The Tree of Life” is currently in limited
release since May 27, 2011 and is only playing in four theaters, two of which
is in New York. The film has received largely positive reviews with 86% on
Rotten Tomatoes. Critics admitted that ‘Terrence Malick's singularly deliberate
style may prove unrewarding for some, but for patient viewers, [the film] is an
emotional as well as visual treat.’ Despite the reportedly mixed reception at
the Cannes Film Festival, it received the highest honor, the Palme d'Or. One of
the competing films was Lars von Trier’s latest, “Melancholia,” a science
fiction/drama set to be released in November. I saw “The Tree of Life” at the
Landmark Sunshine and a lot of the show-times were close to or were already
sold out. The audience sat in complete silence as the film played but as the
credits rolled I eavesdropped on some of the reactions as I was leaving. Some
were debating what it was about while others openly mocked it as pretentious
fluff and ‘couldn’t get into it.’ As expected, it’s rather mixed and at two
extremes—you either love it or you hate it. The only other film to have
inspired such debate was Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey,”
which has been compared to Malick’s film due to its similarly ponderous nature,
although nowadays it is widely regarded as the science-fiction masterpiece.
“The Tree of Life” is certainly a masterpiece, a poetic yet frustrating
experience that will invoke a mixture of emotions. I believe Roger Ebert
encapsulates the film best: ‘What Malick does in [the film] is create the span
of lives. Of birth, childhood, the flush of triumph, the anger of belittlement,
the poison of resentment, the warmth of forgiving.’ Malick’s quest for the
meaning of life will bewilder just as it awes but it is no less a journey worth
taking.
Final Rating: 5 out of 5
“There are two ways through life: the way
of Nature, and the way of Grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.”
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