Movie Review: The Tree Of Life

Terrance Malick’s The Tree of Life is one of the most intellectual and visually appealing films to be released in the last decade. The film spans from the dawn of creation and the dinosaur ages to 1950s Texas. The core element of the plot is the comparison between the relationship a father has with his son and the relationship between God and Mankind.

The film opens with a biblical passage from Job 35:4

I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.

Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.

If thou sinnest, what does thou against him? Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?

If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

Even opening with a passage from the bible it didn’t really solidify the films belief in Christianity. The inclusion of evolution and dinosaurs alone contradicted the religious elements but lent them self so well at the same time. The plot did jump around a lot, but it’s really wasn’t all that hard to follow.

Brad Pitt is amazing in his role as a 1950s family man struggling to reach his true feelings for his son. However Sean Penn on the other seemed damn near useless as the grown version of Pitt`s son. The films spends half its time in flashbacks during Penn’s characters childhood, exploring his relationship with his father which is intended to parallel the relationship between God and mankind. Although it may seem like a large pill to swallow, the general concept gets itself across fairly easily

It’s not until part way through that things become slightly convoluted and oddly out of place when nearly 40 minutes is spent exploring the beginning of time in the universe and life on earth. The pacing and continuity in the plot at this point are all over the place, but the cinematography and score are so brilliantly put together you could care less if the plot works as one cohesive whole from beginning to end.

Although it may not be the next big superhero blockbuster or the mind bending sci-fi thriller of the summer, the film doesn’t try to be. Malick doesn’t appear to be aiming the film towards the audience that wants to turn their brain off in order to enjoy giant fighting robots and explosions. He would rather give you his magnificent looking take on evolution, religion and life here on earth from the dawn of creation and it’s comparison to a simple family in 1950s Texas. More or less it felt as though the film did come full circle, but for most people it’ll be harder to comprehend then if it were spelled out for them like all too many films tend to do.