Movie: The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick

After hearing all the mixed reviews, the quiet respect balanced with passionate hatred, I decided that seeing this film was a top priority. And since I like to see people's reactions just as much as a good film, I'm glad the audience at the theater reflected the divided opinions of critics. I am not exaggerating when I say half the people who were in the theater were fuming with frustration, with anger, maybe even more than half considering what I witnessed was only the most intense reactions. People walked out, and they did so as a statement, with loud grumbling, body language to display their revulsion. What were they expecting from this film? Didn't they read the reviews, the criticisms? Maybe it was just to say "I read this movie was a piece of shit, I'm going to confirm it."

I don't know what they were expecting but I'll tell you what I was expecting. I was expecting a beautiful film, a film that describes life on a grand scale, the most grand scale possible and reduces it down to the most intimate details of human existence. Malick began by grounding his film, by introducing us to his characters and setting their lives into motion with hope and grace. Then he gave these characters context... and by context I mean, he created the universe on screen. He showed us cosmic explosions, star producing nebulae, galaxies and finally our planet. Then he showed us the beginning of life on our planet, simple organisms evolving, becoming more complex, fighting for life. He even showed us a few dinosaurs. Yes, this film about human fragility has a scene with dinosaurs... Malick thought, "Well, of course! how would we be here if not for all the life that came before us?!" And he was right; it was this sort of scope, the unbelievable breadth that made this film special.

The bulk of the film revolved around a traditional family of the 1950's era. Malick spent a lot of time focusing on the fragile relationship between the father and the oldest son. The father played by Brad Pitt demanded respect and obedience and the son was overburdened, he wanted to rebel and create mischief and animosity grew between them; animosity which became part of their relationship. Malick did such a wonderful job as the architect of this relationship, showing minute details, developing complex emotions, and adding each conflict to a big picture which followed the son into his adulthood where he had to deal with unresolved issues, insecurities, but also strengths which the father successfully instilled upon him. This wasn't accomplished with traditional storytelling though, it was accomplished using metaphor and surreal imagery. This film, simply put, is on screen poetry. It accomplished a whole lot, but in the end it was about interpretation. Short powerful scenes were meant to explode in the viewers imagination, letting us fill in most of the detail. Malick pulled this off without a single misstep; I remember being guided with care through the story, through the most ambitious story I've ever seen in a film.

5/5