The Tree of Life (2011) Film 14/50

This was not a film. This was a poem told with music and memories and dream sequences and moving imagery...and Brad Pitt.

The chorus, a warm and celestial light surrounded by darkness that somehow manages to capture both the essence of birth/creation and death/destruction simultaneously, punctuates the non-linear storytelling as the film bounces between present-day New York and 1950s Texas. There is also a lengthy interlude in the beginning that presents the creation of our world and the evolution of life up to and including the meteor crashing into our then-dinosaur-populated planet; a random tangent to an otherwise touching exploration into the childhood memories of the story's focus, Jack.

Within the first ten minutes, we find ourselves drawn to a family in crisis, as a mother and father learn of their 19 year old son's death. As friends and neighbors try to console them, we are provided with clues about the family through a series of poignant shots: a guitar residing silently next to a neatly-made bed, scenes of brothers at play, the mother and father struggling to find solace as they wander aimlessly through the streets of a quiet neighborhood. Narration takes the form of whispers, at times spoken by the mother and later by Jack.

From here we meet an older Jack (played by Sean Penn), now living and working in present-day New York. We learn little about him other than that he is a successful architect (an assumption based purely on his house and the impressive number of floors he must travel via elevator to reach his office). It is evident that he continues to struggle with the loss of his brother and has a strained relationship with his father (portrayed by Pitt). His day is interrupted with scenes from his childhood and thoughts of his mother (Jessica Chastain).

About twenty minutes into the film, the story sharply veers from Jack and his family and begins what I lovingly refer to as the "birth of the universe" sequence. This passage is long (nearly twenty minutes) and could have easily been removed from the film without losing narrative content. That being said, there is some absolutely gorgeous footage of jellyfish mixed in here.

With the end of the "birth of the universe" sequence, the remaining film is largely devoted to various memories and dream sequences surrounding Jack's childhood. Ranging from the mundane (making shadow puppets with his brothers and father) to the profound (the tragic deaths of childhood friends), these moments are all treated with equal respect by the filmmaker; every moment is presented as sensitively and gracefully as the next.

The finale reunites us with Penn, as he works his way through over fifty years of unresolved guilt and emotional turmoil. The entire journey has been stylistic and deliberate, reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

At first, I had my doubts about this film, particularly as the "birth of the universe" passage began. Its rapid cuts from one image to another were initially off-putting. But Brad Pitt and Hunter McCracken (Young Jack) are phenomenal in their respective roles. In fact, I preferred Pitt's performance in this film to that of his nominated performance in Moneyball. And while I would absolutely love to see this film win Best Picture this Sunday, I have an unfortunate feeling that the little gold man will end up going home with someone else. Best Cinematography is certainly still up for grabs, though.

So if you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend you do. And here's hoping that McCracken kid lands another big role soon.