Darrel Manson
Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is all of these things. What it is not is a film that will be appreciated by everyone. Don't misunderstand. I think it's a wonderful film—probably one of the best coming out this year. It's just that it is so out of the norm that it may just stump many viewers. It is not so much a film to be watched as it is an experience to be encountered and processed.
Although plot is not an especially operative word for this film, this is the story of Jack O'Brien and his family. But it is set in the context of all history from the formation of the galaxies to the end of the world. The film spends a sizable amount of time showing us the cosmos, the formation of the Earth, the beginning of life and evolution through the dinosaurs. All of this is done with no commentary. We watch it all happen. We see a bit of Jack as an adult, but mostly we see him as a child with his parents and brothers. We don't get a full story, but rather scenes scattered through his years.
Jack's father is loving, but demanding and hard. His mother is kind, even offering, in one scene, water to a prisoner being put into a police car. In an early voice over she explains that "there are two ways through life, the way of nature and the way of grace," and that each person must choose the way they will follow. It is not that the parents are in a competition for how Jack should live, but each tries to impart their own values to Jack and his brothers.
The film often lacks fluidity—even within a scene. This is part of the style of the film—not giving us a smooth story and storyline. Rather it often only gives us images, just as memory is often just a collection of such images. (My opening paragraph of adjectives is an attempt to create a feel of this disconnected manner.) Even in scenes where there is conversation, the words may be in the background while we focus on other things. Through much of the film there are voiceover comments, some lengthy, some only a sentence or two.
Certainly the film is full of metaphor and symbolism, but I would discourage you from trying to figure out what each means. These should be seen as tensive symbols—symbols that may carry various meanings and often are used more to evoke a response than to signify anything in particular. Rather than consider what each symbol might mean—just let them marinate in your psyche and see where they lead you. Above all, do not try to make an allegory of the film. It is tempting to see the relationship of Jack to his parents, especially his father, as how he relates to God. There may well be some correlation, but how Jack engages both God and his father are too rich to intermingle.
What we are offered in this film is a meditation on life, on God and God's presence (and absence), on faith, on love, on family, on rebellion and sin, on grief, on doubt. It gives us a chance to consider our place within the whole of creation. The film opens with the words of Job 38:4, 7 about God laying the foundations of the earth. What does it mean to place Jack's story within the whole history of the cosmos? Perhaps that we are a part of that ongoing story, but we really only really know it in the time frame of a single life—our own.
Perhaps knowing a bit of what to expect will help you choose to take a chance on this challenging film. While many people may shy away from something so out of the ordinary, I think those who are willing to encounter this work will find a great reward.
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