Film: The Tree of Life

GENRE: Drama
RATING: PG-13 for thematic material
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 19 minutes
STARRING: Brad Pitt (Babel, Inglorious Basterds)
Jessica Chastain (The Help) Hunter McCracken (newcomer)
DIRECTOR: Terrence Malick (Thin Red Line, The New World)
WRITER: Terrence Malick (Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven )
PLOT: A boy in the 1950s grows up under the stress of nature/nurture parenting. The creation of the world also factors in.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 This may very well be the most beautifully shot film I have ever seen. The visuals are spellbinding. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve only seen a glimpse of what this movie has to offer. If this film doesn’t get a cinematography Oscar nomination, I’ll be dumbstruck.
2 Malick is able to get some great emotion out of his actors, even if he has to do some unconventional editing to get it. There are numerous scenes where Malick keeps cutting to a different take in order to experience the emotion he is going for.
3 There’s not much dialogue in this film, it makes you interpret through the visuals. Malick also shows the creation story through some mind-blowing sequences. Planet Earth series, eat your heart out. Malick’s storytelling in unconventional to say the least and some do not like his methods. This was evident in the 10 people who left the theatre near the beginning of the film. They weren't up for something different apparently; maybe they should see Transformers 3.
4 Brad Pitt is a jerk in this film. He does it well. His stern father character is despicable at times but you can’t turn away from him. McCracken who plays his firstborn is also pretty engaging as he slowly becomes unhinged as the tension at home increases.
5 There is such a strong sense of realism in the way the characters interact on screen. The three boys play so well together, you would swear the actors were actually brothers. Throw Chastain’s idealistic turn as the loving mother only makes the scenes even riper with family harmony. Amazing work.

RECOMMENDATION: Visuals – theatre, story - DVD
UPCOMING REVIEWS: 2011 Emmy nominations