The story of a middle aged man reflecting on the events of his childhood and how they shaped his emotional and psychological development is depicted in this beautiful visual entry from Terrence Malick (‘Badlands’, ‘The Thin Red Line’). Jack (Sean Penn) is a successful (assumed) architect that receives a phone call from his estranged father that causes him to reflect on his childhood, specifically his early teens.
As a young Jack experiences his loss of innocence through a series of traumatic events, family turmoil, and personal suffering he struggles to define his own path of following what his mother (Jessica Chastain, ‘The Help’) described the choice between grace and nature. His mother represents grace and teaches her children to marvel in the wonders of the world and his father (Brad Pitt) represents nature, preparing his boys for the harsh, corrupt, and exploitive ways of the world. Simultaneously, and at times abruptly, a visual expose of the creation of life on earth overlaps the narrative while Jack reflects. The film closes with an adult Jack envisioning himself on a beach with all of his family and people that have touched his life, seemingly reveling in self-content and awareness.
Due to its non-linear narrative structure it can be easy to get lost in the first 45 minutes of the film. The introduction of the characters is brief, maybe 10 minutes as the film opens, and then it transitions into the creation of life on earth segment I described above for the better part of the remaining first hour. The next hour plus is centered on Jack’s adolescence and the final 15 minutes or so are a self-realization/meditation in the mind of an adult Jack. Needless to say the structure of the film is the reason it was so polarizing with critics (definitely more people liked it than didn’t however, 84% on Rotten). If you can look past the time shifts and are patient with its message I believe ‘The Tree of Life’ can be an extremely rewarding film both visually and emotionally.
I also would like to point out Brad Pitt’s performance. I believe it was a much more real and engaging performance than he gives in ‘Moneyball’ and it’s a shame it hasn’t been lauded for its emotional and human authenticity. However the real star is Malick. From a visual and experimental standpoint he is one of the best “mainstream” directors on the planet. Terrence Malick is a true master of his craft and as Roger Ebert put it, and I am paraphrasing, “there used to be several directors that would settle for nothing less than a masterpiece every time they set out to make a film, now there are only a few, Malick is one of those few.”
‘The Tree of Life’ is nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography. Unfortunately it won’t have a shot in the first two categories but is a big contender for cinematography and I wouldn’t be surprised if it won. The only thing to be wary of is the Academy may want to recognize either ‘The Artist’ or ‘Hugo’ because they are more loved overall, it should be interesting to see what plays out next week. I will go on record saying, after letting the film percolate in my mind for a few days; ‘The Tree of Life’ is the best film of the year, both visually and thematically, a must see for any true fan of the cinema.
Thus concludes my film reviews for the 2012 Oscar season! I will have a few posts leading up to the show but nothing related to analyzing films’ Oscar chances.
