Pass the Popcorn: The Tree of Life

It's hard to critique The Tree of Life because it doesn't play like a normal movie. It's more of a philosophy student's art project with an extremely high production value. I'm not saying you can waltz into your local college film festival and see something that could remotely stand up to it, but the grand themes, meandering story, and stylistic jump cuts would feel right at home.

The actors create wonderfully complex performances - Brad Pitt is an overbearing but loving father and Hunter McCracken is the son who isn't quite sure how to deal with his misguided lessons. No one is entirely good or entirely bad. They are simply human; growing, learning, breaking, and being fixed. But the performances get overshadowed by Terrence Malick's stylistic choices.

The juxtaposition between the human experience and nature's chaotic path gets extremely overplayed, which is where the meandering begins. Many shots, while beautiful in their own right, are hammered into scene after scene. The art minimizes the narrative, which creates a convoluted story. This tactic would work masterfully in a short, but The Tree of Life drags it out for over two hours.

By the time the credits roll, you're almost where you began (emotionally speaking). The destination isn't worth the length of the journey. If I could judge this film in 20-minute increments, I would say that it's cinematic gold. But viewing it from beginning to end turns it into a mediocre movie going experience.