film review: the tree of life
Terrence Malick is renowned for his visceral, thought provoking films, which tend to divide audiences. His 1978 film Days of Heaven was recognised as a landmark in cinema for its use of symbolic imagery, despite its slow pace and arguably dull look at the lives of a struggling couple in the 20th century. After a 20 year break, Malick returned to the screen with the war film The Thin Red Line, which was nominated for seven academy awards. And now with the relative success of the drama The New World in 2005, Malick has released The Tree of Life which was awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Life and death play a pivotal role in the film, along with themes of regret, nostalgia and loss.
Shot on location in Texas, the non-linear narrative cuts between the past and the present where Jack (Sean Penn) is a wealthy architect, but is looking back at his childhood in the 1950s. Through flashback sequences, he reminisces about his relationship with his brothers, his loving but submissive mother (the beautiful Jessica Chastain), and his authoritative father (Brad Pitt). These scenes are again interspersed with ‘meaningful’ images of space, nature and dinosaurs to evoke questions about the creation of the world and mortality. While these ‘cosmos’ sequences are certainly original, they drag on at times, which belittles their impact and interrupts the flow of the narrative.
Overall the production design is stunning and the acting is subtle, but impressive. Sean Penn however, lacks substantial screen time and with no lines, his character basically wanders around the coldly modern corporate world in which he clearly feels alone and empty. Described as a ‘metaphysical and spiritual journey’ audiences should go into this film with the understanding that it’s not your typical Hollywood drama, and while is it flawed, most viewers should be able to take something away from it.
