"I didn't at all find on the screen the emotion of the script, which is the most magnificent one that I've ever read."Well, I have to quibble with Mr. Penn. "The Tree of Life" is amazing. Here's why:
- Everyone in this movie acts the shit out of it. I know that sounds crass and sarcastic, but I'm serious. Hunter McCracken (great name - can't be real right?) was perfect. Brad Pitt was amazing. Jessica Chastain, well...
- If you don't fall in love with Jessica Chastain in this movie, you are not alive. Period. I want to marry her ten million times.
- It's Brad Pitt's best performance since 12 Monkeys. And it's better than his excellent performance in "Moneyball". Can you imagine Brad Pitt being an asshole? I couldn't (Come on - Brad Pitt is the best!). But I can now. It's a performance riddled with a self-loathing married to a personal ambition that thwarts his (rather sincere) intent to love and connect with his family. It's a remarkable performance.
- No movie has ever captured the brother dynamic more lovingly and more sincerely. I can't get over it. It's astounding. My God, I feel like I lived Jack's (Hunter McCracken/Sean Penn's character's) life. You know, without the Daddy issues. But seriously, I've never seen a movie do sibling relationships like Malick does in "The Tree of Life". It's embarrassing enough that the second best example I can even think of is "Home Alone". "Rachel Getting Married" takes an admirable stab at sister relations but I couldn't tell you how honest or accurate that dynamic was.
- Did you know "Tree of Life" made $54.3 million dollars? I'm glad it did, because it's nostalgic, and sad, and wonderful, but I always operated under the assumption that it was a colossal flop. Of course, maybe it only made money because of this theater's no refund policy - natch.
- It's weird - I hated the narration in "The Thin Red Line" and yet I loved it here. It just works sooo much better and its vital to the story and our understanding of the characters. And yet the words themselves just aren't that much different from "Red Line" to "Tree of Life". I think you can transplant the narration from "Red Line" to "Tree of Life" and it would work just as well. The environment was just wrong. It's like Malick kept trying to shoehorn the concept into one of his flicks until it fit. Well, it does here.
- I'm not sayin' anything new or original here, but there is very clearly a tribute to Kubrick in this movie. Not just stylistically (the "2001" parallels are fairly obvious), but musically as well. I think his reliance on classical music really sets it apart from previous Malick films.
- Did I mention Jessica Chastain?
- It is sad and mean, hopeful and life affirming. It makes you feel, the way important movies should.
As per Mr. Penn's complaints, I wonder if he originally had a much larger role in the movie. In the finished version, he has about (maybe) 3 1/2 minutes of screen time. Total. Why even bust the budget for Penn at that point? Hell you could have hired me to play that role...and at scale no less!
After watching "Tree of Life" I definitely need to put it at the top of my 2011's Best Movies list. For those of you curious, I'll list my top ten below. I'm leaving the last three spots empty because a) nothing else really deserves those spots and b) something that I haven't seen might snake its way in at some point. I'm thinking "War Horse", or "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", or "Dragon Tattoo" or "Super Eight".
- Tree of Life
- Moneyball
- Bridesmaids
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
- X-Men: First Class
- Warrior
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- ?
- ?
- ?
