The Tree of Life Review

Considered a modern master, Terrence Malick is responsible for Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), The New World (2005) and his latest, The Tree of Life, sees him in a more experimental mood than usual.

The film opens with Mr O’Brien (Brad Pitt) and Mrs O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) receiving news that one of their three sons has died. The film then goes from briefly following one of the sons as an adult, Jack (Sean Penn in one of his more pointless roles) before showing us the Big Bang, the formation of the universe, a glimpse into life as a dinosaur before returning to more recent times to further explore the life of the O’Briens. Mrs O’Brien states at the start of the film that we either follow ‘the way of grace’ or ‘the way of nature’. The former being a caring, accepting existence whilst the latter is a more ‘do what it takes to get by’ attitude where being a little bit nasty once in a while is just a way of life. It becomes clear early on to the children that mum represents grace and dad, nature with the latter half of the film depicting the boys attempts to make their own choice. To say the film is a little ambitious would be a big understatement.

The Tree of Life is a beautiful film and I very much doubt that a better looking film will be seen this year. The moments in space with the planets and depictions of swirling cosmos (or heavens) is genuinely breathtaking and even makes the following dinosaur scenes easier to swallow. Malick’s focus on nature is ever-present and especially in the first 40 minutes, The Tree of Life plays out like a documentary. Shots of oceans, deserts, forests and animals all occupying their natural habitats are so captivating that you wouldn’t be surprised if David Attenborough popped up and began talking you through it. The same can be said for the final moments in the film. Both amazing to look at whilst being touching at the same time; you can’t help but feel you’re watching something very special.

Something that was special for the first hour and the last 40 minutes anyway. Yes, unfortunately despite the beauty that runs throughout the film, there are too many lulls, each of which making you feel every minute of the film's 2 hours and 20 minutes running time. Whilst Brad Pitt is great as the kind hearted but domineering father, the long spells following the children begin to drag and although appearing affecting initially, the continual whispering inner monologues of the characters slides into being pretentious and irritating.

When images exploring the creation of the universe appear alongside Sean Penn staggering through a wooden door frame into the nothingness of the desert, Malick makes it far to easy to simply deem The Tree of Life a load of pretentious dribble. And whilst this is clearly a deeply personal project for Malick, images of a giant in the attic and mum floating around the lawn often make it difficult to take what is clearly serious material very seriously.

The Tree of Life is a personal declaration of beliefs for Terrence Malick and the ambition and scope of the project has to be commended. However, despite the truly amazing visuals making it the best looking picture of the year so far, there are just too many too many frustratingly dull patches and moments that are far too difficult to defend against the inevitable cries of pretension. It may be a film that is best watched in the vein of Godfrey Reggio’s Qatsi Trilogy* and taken purely as a sensory experience but the flaws previously mentioned can’t help but leave The Tree of Life something of a disappointment. A difficult film to enjoy or truly recommend to anyone other than Malick enthusiasts.

*Godfrey Reggio’s Qatsi Trilogy consists of Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of balance (1983), Powaqqatsi: Life in transformation (1988) and Naqoyqatsi: Life as war (2002). With no dialogue or narrative, the films are made up of slow motion and time-lapse footage of American cities and landscapes (Koyaanisqatsi), life in industrial countries (Powaqqatsi) and conflict (Naqoyqatsi) put to music composed by Philip Glass. Each can be found on Google Videos, Youtube or cheap on DVD and make for interesting viewing.