Tree of Life (2011)

directed by Terrence Malick

starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn

Terrence Malick clearly had high aspirations for this film. It's being praised as "equal parts period piece, family drama, and existential meditation." Well, perhaps not equal parts. While I was most concerned about the existential-meditation segment of that description, it turned out to be the most enjoyable part of the film - but also the shortest.

The film operates almost exclusively in series of five-second clips, creating a moving collage of sorts. It uses this very effectively in the beginning to introduce themes of death and mourning. A character cries to God, asking where he is and if he cares: Malick responds with images of the universe. I was struck by the beauty and intensity of this abbreviated history of the universe: planets and stars, gases and molten rocks, light and dark, stone and water and life rising from the smoke. I loved it. I had been skeptical coming in, but I was converted. Indeed, he had captured a compelling image of life.

I expected the film to continue in the same manner; pictures of multiple people, moments of thoughts, interspersed with objects and nature and the resounding, silent reassurance of the galaxies. But instead, we parked, and watched Jack progress from infant to boy to angsty preteen, following his struggle to come to terms with the life he had been given. This section had a great deal to say too: I enjoyed examining the relationship between father and son, and considering the extent that Jack's sometimes-questionable actions stemmed from both hatred and envy of his father's power. But this wasn't the same story that the film told before, and after teasing us with images of eternity, the trip to a boy's gradual growth in a Texas town felt excruciatingly slow.

As for the ending, let's just say that it will be hit or miss. It missed for me. The attempted return to existential meditation came off as a strange blend of supernatural symbolism and wishful thinking. What happened to the Big Bang and the dinosaurs? That was cool.

What the movie did well, it did excellently. I'd love to watch the beginning of the film a few more times. It really puts a beautiful perspective on human pain and suffering. As for the movie that interrupts and takes over - it's good, but doesn't measure up to the promise of the first act.

Coming Soon: X-Men, Hamlet, Agora, Saving Private Ryan