Big Picture Big Sound

Oedipus Tex

Writer/director Terrence Malick's latest film, "The Tree of Life", is a study in contradictions. At once it's profound and facile, gorgeous and goofy, meditative and bombastic. As in his previous work ("Days of Heaven", "The New World"), Malick's film is less a narrative than a visual poem. Here, he ambitiously tackles no less than the creation of life and man's relationship to God. And like that relationship, the film can be both beautiful and flawed, depending on how you look at it. Either way, it's worth a look.

Malick centers the loose narrative around a character named Jack — played as an adult by Sean Penn and as a child by Hunter McCracken. As adult Jack reflects on his life and the early death of his younger brother, Jack flashes back to his childhood in 1950's rural Texas. Through his relationship with his parents (and subsequently, with God), we witness his internal struggle of nature vs. grace and compassion vs. shame.

With a radiant, saint-like creature for a mother (Jessica Chastain), and a tight-jawed task master for a father (Brad Pitt), young Jack is slung between his utter worship of one parent and his fear and hatred of the other. Both parents seem to embody what people believe of God — one is pure love, the other stern and vengeful. Jack and his brothers are brought up in a house of rules, where Father (he won't let his sons call him "Dad") is the Law. But as Jack gets older, he begins to act out in ways that pit him against what he's been taught (he even says he wishes his father would die) and makes him question whether or not he is "good."

The themes of the film unfold as the camera follows behind characters as they make their way through their days. Dialogue is minimal, mostly spoken in whispered voiceovers that are not unlike prayers. The story is truly told in the eyes and gestures of the actors, which speak much more loudly than words. McCracken and the other non-actors who play Jack's brothers are particularly revelatory (and startlingly resemble Pitt and Chastain). Brad Pitt is also a surprise, turning in possibly the most skilled and nuanced performance of his career.

If Malick simply let the film be about this little Texas microcosm, "The Tree of Life" would have been a lovely little film. But he pushes it further by juxtaposing the flashback scenes with stunningly-rendered images of the Big Bang and the formation of the Earth. As intimate as his camera is with Jack's family in Texas, his vision of the spark of life is grandiose. Created by a special effects team led by Douglas Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey"), the swirling gases of the heavens and the creation of our planet are startlingly beautiful.

The contrast between the whole of creation and a little boy in Texas somehow makes sense if taking the "are you there, God?" question into consideration. But there are some odd detours along the way that seem just plain goofy. For example, a scene involving dinosaurs, where the predator appears to have mercy on his prey (wha?), and the concept of heaven which basically consists of people slowly wandering aimlessly up and down a beach.

"The Tree of Life" is not perfect, but it is, if anything, fascinating. Malick is the kind of director one either loves or hates. His films are long (this one is 2 hours and 18 minutes), with no plot points and long stretches of no action. But what they do have (and what this film has in spades) is a unique visual vocabulary that is simple, thoughtful and poignant. Malick is probably the purest visual director working today, and flawed or not, God or not, "The Tree of Life" is a hypnotically beautiful film that deserves a serious look.