The Tree of Life (2011)

Directed by: Terrence Malick | 138 minutes | drama, fantasy | Actors: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw, Dalip Singh, Kari Matchett, Joanna Going, Jackson Hurst, Jennifer Sipes, Brenna Roth, Crystal Mantecon, Kimberly Whalen, Will Wallace, Zach Irsik, Lisa Marie Newmyer

The impact of a meteor several kilometers in diameter is enough to destroy almost all life on Earth, it seems. It also seems that we humans can never prepare for such an all-ending blow. We won’t see anything coming: the object is too small, the speed too high. We’ll never know what hit us. You can worry about that, or you can just shrug it off. Terence Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life’, a kitchen-sink drama of epic proportions, an inner journey to the far reaches of the universe, is a film you can never be prepared for. At most you will find something to hold on to in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, ‘Koyaanisqatsi’, or, in terms of philosophy, Malick’s own ‘The Thin Red Line’. The best thing to do is to let yourself be engulfed by the majestic waves that Malick throws before your very eyes.

‘The Tree of Life’ begins as an impressionistic maelstrom. Images and fragments of dialogue whirl past you like loose leaves. These are the memories and feelings of Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn), who seeks guidance in a contemporary world of steel, glass and high frequencies. And as with memories, truthful or not, it takes a while for them to crystallize, before Jack has picked up the shreds and can make a coherent whole. In a matter of minutes, earth, air, water, fire and the other elements that make up the universe and life pass your eyes. Boiling lava collides with a churning sea. An injured sea creature, a plesiosaur, lies on a sandy beach. The O’Brien family lives in an American suburb in the 1950s. Somewhere in this universe a star nebula is churning. Jack himself, in tailored suit, clambers through a bony wasteland; the barren land of confusion. The film cannot be captured in a short statement. More questions are raised than answered. So many questions, that finding an answer cannot be the end goal of this viewing experience. Because life itself has no answer. We do try, but we usually don’t have more than platitudes. If a child dies, you say, “He is in God’s hands now.” Or, if you’re less socially gifted, “Luckily, you’ve got two more.”

The subject of the film is not the individual coming-of-age of Jack O’Brien (Hunter McCracken), who struggles violently with the clashing visions of life of his loving mother, Mrs. O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) and strict father, Mr. O’Brien (Brad Pitt). However grand and penetrating Jack O’Brien’s personal experience of life may be, in the total, infinitely large spectrum, his existence is like the breath of wind that briefly ripples the curtains in his parental home. The subject of ‘The Tree of Life’ is life itself – its incomprehensible magic – the immense time and space in which life has acquired a place, the despair about your own place, your own life, and the confusion about the how you should deal with it as a person. You can go two ways with that, says the film: “The way of nature, and the way of grace. You have to choose which one to follow.” mrs. O’Brien, red-haired, red-lipped, green-eyed, and white-marble-skinned, is grace itself, with her tender, tender appearance. She floats on the waves and marvels at their swell, instead of resisting it. mr. O’Brien’s dead serious, cropped head, on the other hand, is like the head of a sledgehammer. Only his lower lip has squeezed out with great difficulty, the rest of his face is restrained. He is prepared for anything. He teaches his sons to fight back, to be quiet and to keep their own affairs in order. His life lessons prepare them for life in a harsh, selfish world. It causes discomfort for the children, especially for the eldest, Jack, who will be the first to leave his safe childhood world. Jack is constantly on guard when his father is near, Jack’s eyes follow him suspiciously, as God follows him again. (At least I’ve been taught that.) As if Mr. O’Brien is a strange creature. And in the world of a growing child, still developing his consciousness, isn’t everything strange and new? Inevitably there will come a time when you try to realize yourself as an individual in this wondrous eternity. It is the crisis that turns a child into an adult, that makes a son resemble his father. And which is painfully sharp in ‘The Tree of Life’. Those who identify too much with Jack will find themselves in Mr. O’Brien to see a monstrous father. Anyone who steps back will conclude that he is not much different from most fathers who try to arm their children against life. In the case of the O’Briens this leads to some contradictions: “Why do I have to be good if you are not good?”. But the father of the house accepts no contradiction. After all, life isn’t like that. “Give me a kiss,” he says, reading the newspaper. He gets a kiss.

‘The Tree of Life’ is a true spectacle. It is a rare pure experience, an intimate reflection of an inner life. It is also a wonderful way to (re)experience the discovery of life, to marvel at the fact that there is such a thing as life through a shy director and that you are personally witness to it. Sometimes, in and around the O’Briens’ house, the footage seems filmed from the low perspective of a curious kid, his eyebrows raised, his head a little askew. Perhaps, the film suggests, that is also the best attitude to adopt in life. But how do you return to innocence if you lose it irrevocably? Anyone who undergoes ‘The Tree of Life’ is in any case on the right track.