Tree of Life

Tree of Life

Written and directed by Terrence Malick

With:  Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw, Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler and Tye Sheridan

     Not since 2001 Space Odyssey, has a film so powerfully and beautifully dealt with the Big Picture until now, with the release of Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life.  This very challenging film tackles not only the mysteries of life, death and eternity, but also the awe of the creation of Earth and the universe, indeed, the meaning of our existence.  The scope of this film is so vast that   that director Malick seems to have performed a miracle in putting it all into one magnificent 2 ½ hour film.  The Tree of Life won the top prize, the Palme d’ Or at Cannes this Spring.

     It is the 1950’s in Waco Texas and a young couple, the O’Briens, is starting their family which will eventually be three sons.   The neat lawns, crew cuts, vintage automobiles, women in aprons recall that bygone era with scrupulous detail.

Mrs. O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) gives birth to her first son, Jack.  Later on we see Jack (Sean Penn) as a middle aged man, in a gleaming  Houston high rise.  He is a lost soul searching for the meaning of  life  as he reflects on his childhood.    Whispered narrations lead us from scene to scene.  When, as a child, Jack’s brother is killed by some unnamed force, the film’s tone takes a tragic turn.  Jack asks God “Where are you?”

     Tree of Life then turns to the maelstrom of creation.  There are exploding galaxies, pulsing nebulae, rivers of molten eruptions, cells dividing, jellyfish forming, hammerhead sharks circling, deafening thunderstorms, dinosaur appearing.   Finally we see young Jack emerging from the water, when finally he is an infant in his mother’s arms.   Every child’s story is a story of all creation, Malick seems to say.

     Jack’s father (Brad Pitt) is a square- jawed, often abusive disciplinarian, who demands hugs from his sons as instruments of control.  He is a frustrated inventor who also plays classical music on the family piano.  His son Jack (Hunter McCracken) is too often the recipient of his father’s rage. Mr. OBrien’s wife is a warm and kind woman who delights in cavorting with her sons, dancing in the rain, serving three squares a day.  She is as close to an angel as one can get.

     Jack’s loss of innocence is chronicled as he runs with a gang of youngsters, breaking some windows, torturing a frog and injuring a dog.  It is disturbing to watch, but a metaphor for his fall from grace.   Tree of Life is replete with allusions to brute nature (Jack’s father) and spiritual grace (his mother).

     God has a leading role in Tree of Life.   Questions that are whispered to Him by Jack are answered in the form of a rustle of a curtain, shadows on the wall, the gurgling of a stream.  Those answers are necessarily oblique.  Because there are no answers.

     Beautiful orchestral and choral music by Brahms, Berlioz and other classical composers accompany many scenes of the film.  The score turns ominous at times such as when Jack is being unreasonably punished by his father. The cinematography captures not only the violence of creation but also the tidy Eisenhower Era  streets of Waco Texas.  There are exquisite panoramas over rustling fields, rolling rivers, and quiet views of the spotless interiors of the O’Brien house.

    Tree of Life is not a mainstream film, and undoubtedly it will frustrate many viewers.  A film that is elliptical, allegorical and, at times, surreal demands patience and reflection.  For example, towards the end, adult Jack, in his business suit, walks on the  endless bleached sands of eternity, encountering  long deceased friends and family members.  The presence of God is a constant in this film.  Aside from the cosmic concerns of the film, the scenes of the O’ Brien family demonstrate Malick’s deep understanding of family dynamics: the tenderness, the sadness, the tensions.  Indeed, there is enough material about this family for a separate movie.  Hunter McCracken who plays the young hurt, fearful and angry Jack, delivers a spectacular performance of depth. And watching the gorgeous Jessica Chastian is one of the films many pleasures.

     Very rarely does a film come along that is as provocative, powerful, and groundbreaking as Tree of Life.   It inspires us to think in ways we rarely do.  This film is simply a great work of Art.  Seeing it is an extraordinary experience.