Review: Impossible is nothing for 'The Tree of Life'

Film: The Tree of Life
Director: Terrence Malick
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Laramie Eppler
Rating: ***1/2

Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life sees Jack O'Brien (Sean Penn) as a middle-aged architect worn out by modern life. With the memories of his deceased brother, RL (Epper), playing heavily on his mind, Jack's thoughts (among others) take us to his childhood in Texas circa 1950s (among other places).

From his infancy to early teens we see, through fragments, Jack and his two brothers rearing under his pragmatic disciplinarian Christian father (Brad Pitt) who, while on occasion coming scarily close to being physically abusive, frequently communicates a genuine love for his children that transcends the clear boundaries he demarcates.

John, however, is unconvinced and is resentful of his father's nature. His mother (Chastain) on the other hand epitomizes a Christ-like grace and innocence to Pitt's Old Testament stance. Jack's relationship with RL, his angelic younger brother who resembles his father on many levels is also explored.

Yes, this reviewer could say that The Tree of Life is a poetic patchwork about destiny-induced cosmic cataclysms and humanity enslaved by death and loss.

Now, the film is also about escapism into a nostalgic reveries (that highlight bygone family dynamics, which is where the drama kicks in), Christian motifs about misfortune, grace and love and Freudian underpinnings like guilt and sadism (not excluding insidious patricidal/fratricidal urges) that are exhibited by young Jack.

Ultimately, the reconciliation of the spirit to a higher binding unity could be the theme that trumps all others but this reviewer won't stake his life on it.

Not bad for a film that has a scene involving dinosaurs (yes, dinosaurs) and a seemingly arbitrary volley of shots featuring the roaring majesty of nature (rolling waves, imposing rock faces, sand dunes, active volcanoes, you name it!) that appear intermittently.

The Tree of Life encompasses the micro and macro aspects of life and living in a way hitherto thought impossible in cinema.

Though the grandiose cosmogony scenes are hair-raising (I'm talking about prehistoric man-gaping-at-a-monolith hair-raising), there are some scenes -- mostly those of the kids and the horseplay between the kids -- that ache with raw emotion.   

Technically, the film's stupendous cinematography/editing and riveting soundtrack inspire a wide spectrum of emotions as does the magnificent performances from the cast, especially from the child actors.  

If you have lived, your viewing of the film is enriched. It's the viewer's own memories and experiences that fuel what Malick sets it up in his collages.

For all its deliberate disjointedness, The Tree of Life isn't pretentious, and it isn't, least of all, predictable. If, while reading this review you think a weak attention span or low tolerance for ambiguity may serve as a deterrent to you gaining something from the film, give it a shot anyway. You just might end up being pleasantly moved to tears.