One thing many directors are cursed by is the inability to cut down their own material. Plenty of films run much longer than they ought to because those behind it don’t want to make strong cuts to over-stuffed films. Some films get found in the editing room because of this, most famously Annie Hall which was a 150 minute murder mystery that didn’t work that was buffeted by about 90 minutes of a quirky relationship comedy that did. The Tree of Life could’ve been one of those, a 90 minute exploration about a man coming to grips with the way his father raised him, but instead winds up being a two and a half hours with an hour plus of material that takes away from a strong story.
Jack (Sean Penn as an adult, Hunter McCracken as a child) had an interesting childhood. His father was stern and wanted to harden his children to the problems of the world. His mother (Jessica Chastain) was affectionate but broke to his will when it came to the children. As a child he deals with his father’s means of discipline and his diverse (for lack of a better word) way of how he wanted to raise them to be strong and stand on their own feet. As an adult he deals with those means and how it transformed him into the successful businessman he is.
And on its own this is a fascinating story. Brad Pitt uglies up a bit as Mr. O’Brien (who never gets a first name), a man devoid of the usual charm Pitt brings to a role. It’s interesting to see him take this part because there’s not a lot to like about O’Brien. He has no qualms laying hands on his children, or his wife, but he does it for what he feels is their own good. It’s a subtle performance from an actor who generally isn’t known for it. He’s an inherently good man trying to do what’s right by his family but doing it in ways that aren’t the most pleasant at times. There isn’t a whole lot of nuance to the part but there doesn’t need to be; O’Brien isn’t a complicated man in how he acts but he is in terms of how he deals with his family. This is usually the sort of role an actor will take to try and win an Oscar, or get nominated for it, and if this was a film just about that then Pitt would be the reason to see this film.
The problem is that while Terrence Malick has crafted a film about a type of childhood that doesn’t exist in today’s modern age, he’s crammed all sorts of weird visuals and nonsense into his film. There are bits involving the big bang, and dinosaurs, that don’t go anywhere. He’s trying to create brilliant visuals and relate it all back to his small family story but all it does it take away from that. This is a film that feels like it could be four hours and the material would work that much more effectively inserted into the film, or 90 as a small family drama, but he’s chosen the worst of both worlds and tried to craft them on to one another. The visuals themselves are rather brilliant to look at but they don’t add anything back to the film. They just feel like padding as opposed to something grander, which is obviously Malick’s intent.
The Tree of Life, then, remains a combination of grand visuals that detract from an otherwise strong period piece about the nature of fathers and sons.
Writer / Director: Terrence Malick
Notable Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain
