In 2011 The Tree of Life, drama directed by Terence Mallick, deeply divided the audience at Cannes Film Festival. Despite that, it won prestigious Palm d'Or, becoming Mallick's most succesful film. It is both intimate and epic, inspired by Mallick's own childhood in 1950s Texas. The plot begins when Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, played by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain, are faced with a devastating news about the death of their 19-year old son; this event is deeply affected his younger brother Jack, even decades afterwards (when he is played by Sean Penn). Mrs. O'Brien begins to question God, which leads to impressive flashback showing the creation of universe and Earth, following with birth and early life of O'Briens' children. The Tree of Life is the most ambitious and, some would say, the most pretentious of all Mallick's films, with a script that explores the deep subjects like the sense of life with very little subtlety. Scenes depicting the history of universe are truly impressive, but the life in 1950s Texas afterwards looks rather too prosaic, and the narration is too confusing. Although this represents a good film, at least for fans of arthouse cinema, Mallick, known for extremely long pauses between films, should have worked on this for at least another year or two.
RATING: 7/10
