The Tree of Life – a film review

"There are two ways through life - the way of nature, or the way of grace. You have to choose which one you will follow."

For those, who enjoy slow moving films that set the mood through imagery and camera work, The Tree of Life might turn out to be a new favorite.  This film is all about mood, which highly correlates with individual temperament at each moment of viewing.

The Tree of life does not pride itself on a twisted plot.  On the contrary, the plot is rather secondary, if at all existent. This film spans life from the beginning (the Big Bang vs. childbirth) and continues onward from childhood filled with questions through the ongoing struggle of a man to embrace the conflict between nature and grace.

Malick presents its viewers with two ways: the way of the father and one of the mother. Like nature, the first one is full of force and combustion, while the second is loveliness herself. 

Between the scenes of Asteroid slamming into the earth and rapids of water rushing over the screen, trees gently sway to the escalating sound of classical music. Complimented by the agile musical score, Malick’s powerful imagery evokes nature’s ability to calm and confuse humanity. At the peak of confusion on screen, the film reverts back to life, which is filled with good people who suddenly go from happiness to suffering.

By following one family’s misfortune, Malick raises issues of internal conflict between faith and nature, suggesting that it predates humanity. To demonstrate this struggle, he shifts away from humans on screen to what seems to be the Triassic Period, where a curious dinosaur moves in for the kill of its weaker species only to become suddely overcome with a primeval kindness.

Switching again to family life, Malick shows the world through the innocent eyes of a child named Jack and torpedoes forward to him as a disheartened adult, who attempts to resolve the complications of his family relations. Struggling in his search for answers in the midsts of modern architecture, Jack as a man seeks solace in amazing visions of nature and vivid memories from childhood. Through wonderful imagery, Malick questions the meaning of existence and faith with constant contrast between the foreceful beauty of life and gentle poetry of spiritual grace.  

Like life itself, The Tree of Life is a transcendent journey, which seemingly leads nowhere, and ends at the place where all roads meet. It all finally comes together and starts to make sense in the film's final sequence, where viewers’ concentration of thought and emotion is released in the afterlife.

Brad Pitt’s performance as Mr. O'Brien is remarkable, as he embodies a hot tempered father struggling to keep his job, while his childhood  dream of becoming a musician still hunts him at the moments of weakness. In contrast to his dark and excitable character, Jessica Chastain’s portrayal of the ethereal Mrs. O'Brien is luminously angelic. 

Best of all is young McCracken as he plays confused and defiant Jack.  Sean Penn is inconspicuous as the older Jack, meandering around beautiful shots of Houston as though he just woke from a coma.

Malick’s new film is not for everyone. Some people will walk out of this film, others will enjoy its slow moving pace. Above all, this cinematographic expression requires patience and is as personal as individual tastes go.


Though beautiful, thought provoking and poetic, in my opinion, this film deserves 4 out of 5 stars for its trying length. Its running time (2 hours and 18 minutes) could use a 20 minutes cut.