An all-encompassing movie experience.

“Father. Mother. Always you wrestle inside me. Always you will.”

A film about the growth of one family in Texas does not accurately describe The Tree of Life. A film about the creation of the universe, planet Earth, and human beings does not accurately describe The Tree of Life either. The best way I can describe the movie is as a meditation on the human experience and our connectivity with a vastness far beyond our comprehension.

The Tree of Life is a movie experience unlike any I have experienced before. While I was amazed at the precisions of each shot, I was more amazed to learn that filming the movie was a relaxed and fluid affair. Most scenes were improvised and every take was different than the last. Malick would have actors not involved with an initial take walk into the scene unbeknownst to the other actors, just to see what happens. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are utterly convincing, losing themselves into the roles. The editing for the film is another matter. Malick is notorious for his lengthy and brutal editing. How many other directors would not blink an eye at cutting most of a major actor’s scene? Imagine how thrilled Sean Penn must have felt when he saw his role was essentially cut to a voice over! Malick has guts.

Not unconventional enough? Let’s talk about the screenplay. Instead of a traditional screenplay, Malick would hand actors pages of stream of consciousness written that morning. I am not sure if that sounds really cool or really annoying. Regardless, the resulting movie made me feel like I was invading treasured and dreaded memories. Not just because of the natural acting, but mostly because of the camera-work. The cinematographer, Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki (Children of Men, Gravity, The New World), helps create dream-like scenes with ever moving, but never distracting, camera work. Characters are almost always filmed from the side or from behind, and the level of the camera stays low for scenes focusing on children while rising for adult centered scenes. The thoughtful camera perspectives add to the feeling that you are reliving a memory. The viewer is not watching children play; instead, we feel we are remembering what it is like to be a child at play.

Now for the part that impressed me the most: the special effects. The legendary special effects supervisor, Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blade Runner), returns to Hollywood after a 30-year hiatus at the behest of Malick. No doubt Trumbull was the key to creating such convincing and breathtaking celestial scenes. Watching our planet form over countless ages made me feel small yet connected.

Just like life itself, not everything is perfect. Sometimes there are Wednesdays that you think are Fridays, and Malick’s Wednesday is length. The movie is simply too long. Even though I was often mesmerized, I did find myself looking at my watch, surprised to see there was almost an hour left in the film. Another problem I encountered was that the movie felt pretentious at times (like this review, am I right folks?). Pretentiousness is a reoccurring theme in Malick’s movies, but he wears it well.

Ultimately, the movie asks you to think what your life experiences mean in relation with other people, our planet, and the universe. Maybe our experiences mean nothing. But perhaps they mean everything.

Run Time: 139 minutes

General Release: 2011

Director: Terrence Malick

Cast: Brad Pitt / Jessica Chastain / Sean Penn

Language: English

Trailer: