Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

The Tree of Life
2011
****½
Director: Terrence Malick
Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan

A man in his fifties reflects on his brother's premature death years ago. This takes him back to his childhood in Texas in the 1950s, when he was torn between the clashing philosophies of his authoritarian father and permissive mother. However, Terrence Malick's expansive, meditative, and astonishingly ambitious fifth film doesn't stop there. It goes back to the birth of the universe and the creation of life on Earth, perhaps to illustrate how insignificant one family's worries are in the larger context. The first 45 minutes provide dreamy images and whispery narration, the next hour follows a more traditional narrative, and the ending is somewhat confounding and unashamedly Christian. Malick asks some big questions, but he doesn't feel compelled to explain himself. Whatever your feelings are towards the aim and scope of his drama - the abstract imagery and spiritual pondering will no doubt alienate many people - there is no denying that as a piece of cinema this is mesmerising. The camera glides and swoops like the wind in the trees, and Malick conducts this visual and auditory symphony to the tiniest detail.