THE TREE OF LIFE (2011/IN THEATERS)

Brad Pitt delivers as the 1950s father

If you have already seen the trailer for this film, you have probably experienced some of its most magical scenes (at least in my opinion)—these are the ones where a trio of young brothers in 1950s Texas (all with gorgeous and expressive faces) play in their yard, swing from their big tree, run after the DDT mosquito truck, dance with their beautiful and gentle mother (Jessica Chastain), and try to understand their stern and difficult father (Brad Pitt).  The oldest of the boys is Jack, played as an adult by Sean Penn and as a young boy by a marvelous Hunter McCracken.  Jack is often talking to “God” in the film in voice-over, asking questions about why bad things happen, for example, or how he can deal with the tug-of-war inside him (“mother, father, always you wrestle inside me, always you will”).  The scenes of the young family are so true to that 1950s life and in amazing detail, with the exact china and glassware we remember ourselves (if we’re of a certain age!), as well as the familiar meatloaf and peas at dinner, the tight-waisted dresses Chastain’s character wears, and Pitt’s skinny suits and ties.  This portion of the film occurs roughly in the middle—the first third of the movie bring us scenes of the news of the death of Jack’s brother and his mother’s grief interwoven with Jack in the present day thinking of the loss of his brother. From there we move to a lengthy sequence depicting the formation of Earth (Big Bang style) and the creation of life, complete with dinosaurs.  The ending brings back more ethereal imagery involving death, forgiveness and letting go.  Terrence Malick, the writer and filmmaker, truly wants us to see all of these scenes and life as connected.  And he brings us a cinematically beautiful film.  For me, the “sci-fi” style creation scenes were off-putting and I would have preferred more of the beautiful shots of those young boys growing up.  But I am not complaining and I do intend to see the entire film again.  Congratulations to Mr. Malick who has been working on this project in one way or another since he completed Days of Heaven (which remains my all-time favorite of his films). The Palme D’Or which this film won at Cannes just last month is surely well deserved.

Grade: A-

For Malick fans, particularly those who liked The New World which has a similar flow and feel.   All others beware—this film is beautiful but has even less narrative.

BTW: Malick famously has only made five features:  Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), The New World (2005) and this year’s The Tree of Life.

READ MORE: A wonderful interview with Jack’s younger brothers can be found here.