Tree of Life

Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, this is why I love film. It is the gem in rough that you come across every few years which makes the hours of watching tripe worth it all. Moving, beautiful, and thought-provoking this film will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Brad Pitt seems to be adopting yet another kid here, or is he?

After seeing the three-hour commercial that I now refuse to acknowledge as a movie Transformers 3, Tree of Life was an uplifting work of genius that restored my faith in the art form. This film is pure art. I would very much like to compare it to Kubrick’s 2001 as every other critic on the planet has done but instead I will attempt to explain the loose narrative. The core of this film follows the character of Jack O’Brien (Hunter McCracken) growing up with his two brothers in 1950’s Waco Texas. Jack’s parents are played by the superb Brad Pitt and fantastic Jessica Chastain. I wouldn’t be surprised if all three actors were nominated for Oscars. Don’t get me wrong though, Tree of Life is much bigger than a story of a kid growing up, it is a billion times more than that. Tree of Life is about evolution, the universe, it’s about life and faith, time and emotion.

The meat of the film is about Jack’s slow disconnection from his father but has been peppered with scenes involving the creation of the universe, of the galaxy, of life itself. Every scene is rich with elegance and feeling, whether it be the family eating dinner or violent volcanoes erupting from the newly formed earth. Sean Penn gives us a glimpse of the grown up Jack, he is there to show us what becomes of Jack but the relationship between Jack and his Father is what is important to his character and who he ultimately becomes. Brad Pitt is great as the overbearing father who simply wants the best for his boys and Jessica Chastain shines as his angel of a wife. I cannot say enough about this film if you are lucky enough to have it showing near you, see it while you can.

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