Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Hunter McCracken, Jessica Chastain
Currently In Theaters
Where do I start in a review of The Tree of Life? For that matter, what could a review of The Tree of Life even describe? The film is basically plotless and abstract, and the underlying meaning of the film may very well be different for everyone who sees it. The only sure things I can say about The Tree of Life are this: it is an amazing film, it is the most unique film I've ever seen, and it may be the most personal film of all time, though in a remarkably odd way. I'll explain all three of these statements, but I'm not really sure how much of it will make sense, so bear with me.
Let's start with the negatives, because this is going to be the most poorly structured review I've written so far, so why not. The Tree of Life is very confusing, and even after coming to the conclusion that I adored it, I still don't understand large sections of the film. Markedly unrelated scenes are snapped together throughout the film and, at times, it is almost impossible to follow what's happened. This is more of a byproduct of abstraction that makes this film so beautiful than an actual negative, but many people will be turned off by how confusing it is. Another small critique is the role of the third brother. The relationship between two of the brothers in this film is extremely fleshed out while a third brother is seen wandering around in the background with almost no dialogue throughout the movie. I am almost certain that this was Malick's intent, and it's more of a question than a critique, but I feel like any review needs to mention negatives, so there you go.
Having stated my poor excuse for negatives, I have to say that the vast majority of the moviegoing crowd need to stay far away from The Tree of Life. When I say that the film has no plot, that isn't a hyperbole: the film is plotless. The Tree of Life's goal is to bring out our emotions and memories, not tell us a story, and the things happening on the screen are just a foundation to evoke those emotions. Because of its plotless nature, a large number of people will absolutely hate it. During my showing, at least fifteen people walked out; at the showing one of my friends attended, five or six people left. I've personally never seen someone actually walk out of a movie before this one, but I can definitely understand why they did. Like I've said: The Tree of Life isn't for everyone.
To me, though, The Tree of Life is a stunning piece of film, not only for its uniqueness but also for its technical aspects. Just like the only other Malick film I've seen so far (The Thin Red Line), The Tree of Life is gorgeous to watch. Every single shot in this movie is beautiful, from the closeups of raging waterfalls to the scenes of childhood memories. These childhood scenes are shot from a child's perspective, with the camera held at around knee's height. This created a very odd nostalgic effect in me as my mind began to recall those early years when I was around that height and how much different the world looked then. And don't even get me started on the evolution scenes. The combination of the singing choir with shots of galaxies and nebulae makes for perhaps the most intense images I've ever seen on film. The acting is also amazing. All of the child actors perform their roles wonderfully, as does Jessica Chastain in an almost completely mute role. Brad Pitt also churns out his best performance to date in a role that strongly reminded me of my own father.
But now we're veering into why The Tree of Life is the most personal film I've ever seen: within all of this confusing imagery and beautiful technique, the film was able to make me recall thoughts and memories that have not entered my mind in years. Most of these were centered around either my father or my brother. When I was growing up, my father raised us in nearly an identical way as the father in this film. He had very strict rules and, at least during my early childhood, my brother and I were afraid of him. The Tree of Life reminded me throughout of this relationship with my father. However, most of the catharsis that I experienced during this film was reserved for the scenes focusing on the two brothers. I was constantly remembering things that we did as children and the way I treated him as a child. There's a specific montage-like sequence that shows the very early years of the two brothers, and that one actually brought out some tears in me. It's very hard to explain such a subjective experience to someone who hasn't lived my life, but I am confident that anyone who approaches this film with a similar open and emotional mindset will be moved in some way by this movie. I also have to quickly mention that the evolution scenes brought out certain emotions in me that I honestly still don't understand, but I had to wipe my eyes during them as well.
Like I stated earlier, I have no idea if that mass of text calling itself a review that precedes this paragraph is even readable, but everything I've written here is what I felt after seeing The Tree of Life. This film is utterly unique and very hard to describe to someone who hasn't seen it. It's a beautiful film both visually and emotionally, and it's a film that will have you thinking about it for a very long time. The Tree of Life is probably the best film I've seen since There Will Be Blood, and it will very likely be my favorite movie of 2011.
Where do I start in a review of The Tree of Life? For that matter, what could a review of The Tree of Life even describe? The film is basically plotless and abstract, and the underlying meaning of the film may very well be different for everyone who sees it. The only sure things I can say about The Tree of Life are this: it is an amazing film, it is the most unique film I've ever seen, and it may be the most personal film of all time, though in a remarkably odd way. I'll explain all three of these statements, but I'm not really sure how much of it will make sense, so bear with me.
Let's start with the negatives, because this is going to be the most poorly structured review I've written so far, so why not. The Tree of Life is very confusing, and even after coming to the conclusion that I adored it, I still don't understand large sections of the film. Markedly unrelated scenes are snapped together throughout the film and, at times, it is almost impossible to follow what's happened. This is more of a byproduct of abstraction that makes this film so beautiful than an actual negative, but many people will be turned off by how confusing it is. Another small critique is the role of the third brother. The relationship between two of the brothers in this film is extremely fleshed out while a third brother is seen wandering around in the background with almost no dialogue throughout the movie. I am almost certain that this was Malick's intent, and it's more of a question than a critique, but I feel like any review needs to mention negatives, so there you go.
Having stated my poor excuse for negatives, I have to say that the vast majority of the moviegoing crowd need to stay far away from The Tree of Life. When I say that the film has no plot, that isn't a hyperbole: the film is plotless. The Tree of Life's goal is to bring out our emotions and memories, not tell us a story, and the things happening on the screen are just a foundation to evoke those emotions. Because of its plotless nature, a large number of people will absolutely hate it. During my showing, at least fifteen people walked out; at the showing one of my friends attended, five or six people left. I've personally never seen someone actually walk out of a movie before this one, but I can definitely understand why they did. Like I've said: The Tree of Life isn't for everyone.
To me, though, The Tree of Life is a stunning piece of film, not only for its uniqueness but also for its technical aspects. Just like the only other Malick film I've seen so far (The Thin Red Line), The Tree of Life is gorgeous to watch. Every single shot in this movie is beautiful, from the closeups of raging waterfalls to the scenes of childhood memories. These childhood scenes are shot from a child's perspective, with the camera held at around knee's height. This created a very odd nostalgic effect in me as my mind began to recall those early years when I was around that height and how much different the world looked then. And don't even get me started on the evolution scenes. The combination of the singing choir with shots of galaxies and nebulae makes for perhaps the most intense images I've ever seen on film. The acting is also amazing. All of the child actors perform their roles wonderfully, as does Jessica Chastain in an almost completely mute role. Brad Pitt also churns out his best performance to date in a role that strongly reminded me of my own father.
But now we're veering into why The Tree of Life is the most personal film I've ever seen: within all of this confusing imagery and beautiful technique, the film was able to make me recall thoughts and memories that have not entered my mind in years. Most of these were centered around either my father or my brother. When I was growing up, my father raised us in nearly an identical way as the father in this film. He had very strict rules and, at least during my early childhood, my brother and I were afraid of him. The Tree of Life reminded me throughout of this relationship with my father. However, most of the catharsis that I experienced during this film was reserved for the scenes focusing on the two brothers. I was constantly remembering things that we did as children and the way I treated him as a child. There's a specific montage-like sequence that shows the very early years of the two brothers, and that one actually brought out some tears in me. It's very hard to explain such a subjective experience to someone who hasn't lived my life, but I am confident that anyone who approaches this film with a similar open and emotional mindset will be moved in some way by this movie. I also have to quickly mention that the evolution scenes brought out certain emotions in me that I honestly still don't understand, but I had to wipe my eyes during them as well.
Like I stated earlier, I have no idea if that mass of text calling itself a review that precedes this paragraph is even readable, but everything I've written here is what I felt after seeing The Tree of Life. This film is utterly unique and very hard to describe to someone who hasn't seen it. It's a beautiful film both visually and emotionally, and it's a film that will have you thinking about it for a very long time. The Tree of Life is probably the best film I've seen since There Will Be Blood, and it will very likely be my favorite movie of 2011.
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