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Terrence Malick’s films have always been something to celebrate. Not only because of their extraordinary beauty, such as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, but also as they appear so rarely, as in a career spanning almost forty years this marks only his fifth film. That said his last film The New World was a large disappointment when it failed to live up to these high standards, but I doubt anyone then looked at it and thought what the director needed was dinosaurs.
Most American films released during the summer months tend to shy away from any idea that an eight year could not understand, articulate and explain, though this film I am glad to say does the complete opposite. Malick goes all out to explore pretty much everything; the meaning of life, the nature of existence from its earliest forms to the present, and the existence of God, making The Tree of Life all the more remarkable in this day and age. The film follows Jack (Hunter McCracken/ Sean Penn) through his childhood and in his later life as he struggles to come to terms with grace and nature, the two paths through life symbolised by his mother (Jessica Chastain) and Father (Brad Pitt). All of which may seem very strange, but just as one might expect from the auteur as here he reclaims that great sense of poetry and lyricism which is simply fascinating to behold, alongside some fantastic acting that makes the whole thing incredibly raw and haunting. As each character’s complexities and problems ripple often violently to the surface, threatening their understanding of the world and identity.
It is also a work of astonishing beauty, shot to perfection by Emmauel Lubezski, and just looks amazing. Also sensational are the special effects, used primarily to create an abstract opening section to the film that includes dinosaurs, space and bacteria which strangely all work in an extraordinary way, forcing the viewer to accept the strange mysteries and contradictions of life that tear us apart. As such, though a more human film it is easily comparable to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, as both examine similar ideas about the nature of existence, use special effects to create works of such remarkable power and unfortunately move at about the same pace as a tortoise on crutches. Though this is not necessarily a bad thing as it allows for such an incredible observation and examination of human nature and the universe itself. It is something to bear in mind as to fully appreciate The Tree of Life you need to be wide-awake when watching it and not have to fight the urge to nod off, as magnificent or not any film that moves at this pace would be liable to do so.
This is a unique masterpiece, a film of phenomenal power that feels almost painfully beautiful, and is a truly incredible work of art that demands to be seen, preferably at the cinema where its majesty can be admired in full. Its pacing may alienate some people but this is essential viewing for all film lovers.
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