News : North Devon Insight

When Terrence Malick makes a film, it's an event. In part this is because of his sporadic output (five films in thirty-three years), but mainly because they are invariably cinematic masterpieces. The Tree of Life is no different. Like Malick's previous pictures, it offers an ethereally beautiful meditation on the nature of the universe and life itself.

We follow the young O'Brien family in 50's Midwest America. The film represents the two polarising forces in a young boy's life, the father (Brad Pitt) as nature, survival of the fittest, and the mother (Jessica Chastain) as grace, kindness and humility. These two influences will shape the young boy, one day growing to define him. This microscopic approach to humanity is interspersed with the universe as a whole. We are shown an extended sequence of the fire and brimstone that forged our galaxy, followed by the mitosis of the first cellular DNA. To call this film ambitious is an understatement! This is perhaps the most abstract of Malick's work. The O'Brien family are not driven by a plot, but rather meander through life as we all ultimately do. As such, we are not presented with specific scenes, but rather moments. Gangs of children roam their neighbourhood, masters of the outdoors, kings of the river, before being called in for supper and to say Grace. But tragedy always lurks nearby as friends drown and accidents leave others horrifically burnt, all foreshadowing the opening grief that introduces the O'Brien's.

To outline and discuss the themes of religion, morality and the meaning of it all would be a futile exercise to attempt in a day, or even a lifetime. But that is perhaps the point of this film. Some may be frustrated by the non-linear narrative and the fractured structure, but it is breathtakingly beautiful, fulfilling and personal. It is rare beast in modern cinema.