Written & directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, 'Tree of Life' was sure to be an amazing production with high Oscar expectations. Although the trailers released did not shed much light on the plot or story line, I was excited to see it.
With the guilt of his brother's teenage death heavy on his mind, Jack (Penn) looks back on his adventurous childhood, reflecting on his upbringing and family dynamic. His father (Pitt) was a stern disciplinary who always made jack feel like he was never loved. Tensions with his father still exist today, and as Jack looks back at the guilt and grief his parents endured over his brother's untimely death, he tries to imagine what losing a child was like for them. While his father was strict and aggressive towards Jack and his brothers, his mother was quite the opposite - showering love onto her boys and allowing them to grow up free and rambunctious. His mother and father never did see eye-to-eye on parenting, but it was the stark contrast of discipline and love that made Jack into the successful man he is today "Father, Mother. Always you wrestle inside me. Always you will"
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'The Tree of Life' was a very deep and telling film. The cinematography was possibly one of the most stunning and interesting I have seen. The movie was littered with quick cuts to beautiful scenes spanning any situation, but always with a relevant theme. From shaky and honest scenes of Jack and his brothers playing in the front yard, cuts to the cosmos with distant and vibrant nebulas and stellar clusters, and flashes of nature's beauty or an architectural wonder. It was similar to a carousal of the beautiful and wondrous images one acquires throughout their life, flashing throughout the entirety of the film.
With the likes of Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, I knew the performances in the film would be great, but in my eyes the great performances did not come from Pitt and Penn, but two unexpected actors. Jessica Chastain, playing the Jack's mother, and Hunter McCracken, who played Young Jack. Chastain's portrayal of grief was painfully realistic, as she morned for the death of her boy. As the film chronicled the life of her children, you could understand the genuine growth and love Chastain portrayed due to her exceptional performance. I was blow away by the honest and natural performances given by both child actors in the film, Mccracken, and Laramine Eppler (who played Jack's younger brother). They were believable and did an incredible job for 'Tree' to be their first project, ever.
The film did an amazing job of portraying the growth and life of the O'Brien family. Such small and humanistic situations are portrayed during the boy's childhood, things that everybody can relate to and say, "Oh, I remember when I was a kid and used to do/think that!". Overall, the film was strangely fresh and raw. It had a true essence of nostalgia that simply mirrored the flittering and flashing memories that we think back to.
I walked out of the theater and for the next day or two was stuck with the images and quotes from the movie. It really does make the viewer look into their own life and reflect on themselves. I really enjoyed the movie and thought it was a perfectly executed performance by the actors and writer-director Terrence Malick. I haven't given too many movies 5/5, but this deep and philosophical drama deserves it! ★★★★★
The film did an amazing job of portraying the growth and life of the O'Brien family. Such small and humanistic situations are portrayed during the boy's childhood, things that everybody can relate to and say, "Oh, I remember when I was a kid and used to do/think that!". Overall, the film was strangely fresh and raw. It had a true essence of nostalgia that simply mirrored the flittering and flashing memories that we think back to.
