Terrence Malick's controversial and poetic film The Tree of Life has caused an extremely polarized response from moviegoers: either they loathed it or have fallen in love with it. But with its strong audience impact, already the film has succeeded. Not to mention that it won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
The Tree of Life is essentially an experimental film, a non-linear drama speculating about the meaning and 'evolution' of life-- from the visions, perspectives, and theories of a small suburban family in 1950s Texas, specifically by the mother (Jessica Chastain), the father (Brad Pitt), and the eldest of their three sons, Jack.
When the father and the mother received news of the death of one of their sons, they are shocked with grief. And thus we begin to be bombarded with their existential questions about grace, nature, God, and life, through striking high-definition wallpaper/screensaver-like visuals of nature and the entire universe from its inception, accompanied by a symphony of classical music, interspersed with whisper-y poetic narration. Yes, you will also get a glimpse of dinosaurs in the visual timeline of 'evolution', of course.
This slideshow of moving photographs of life and nature goes on for a long, long time that you momentarily forget that you're actually watching a movie, but a nature program on National Geographic, or similar to Discovery Channel's Earth. Terrence Malick seems to have been bursting with visual inspirations and he didn't want to leave a single artistic nature shot out of the film. Then the visuals skip to a non-speaking grown-up Jack (Sean Penn) in a cold-corporate present-day setting, reminiscing about his childhood growing up with a strict authoritarian father and a nurturing mother.
The entire film is basically made up of memories and visions and imaginations; a video montage of a family's life and the human soul seeking to understand the meaning of life and God whenever sorrow and tragedy strikes, all presented to us in a fragmented style, so that you only capture the emotions. Very minimal dialogue. Like we are voyeurs of not just the unfolding external drama of a family but their inner turmoil as well, particularly the young Jack.
The film has both beauty and absurd ugliness about it, with laughable elements that include the unexpected cameo of dinosaurs, the exaggerated whisper-y narration, and Sean Penn's agitated, reminiscing look...but he actually looks clueless as to what the hell he should be agitated and sad about. As if he didn't read the script, as if Malick did not brief him on the history of his character's pain and just told him to look thoughtful and sad and bothered.
The beauty of the film, however, is the palpable despair of the human soul. And Jack's relationship with his complicated father was effectively portrayed, which is the heart of the film (Brad Pitt scared me in this movie). The movie carries us in its tide of pain and sorrow...and then we are healed towards the end, especially in the church sermon scene, which was delivered with compassion.
All in all, The Tree of Life, if patiently watched and understood, has value and cinematic merit to it. It may be too poetic, too melodramatic and excessively self-indulgent to the point of comical, but then it also conveys plain truths about the human condition that hits the heart.
I half-hated and half-loved it.
I half-hated and half-loved it.
3 out of 5 stars
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