You know the classic Burt Bacharach song “Alfie?”
Well, after seeing Tree of Life, you may be asking, “What’s it all about, Terrence?”
The film, written and directed by Terrence Malick (Badlands, The Thin Red Line), is a meditation on fathers and sons, the meaning of life, what it means to be a man, and probably a whole lot of other stuff too. (You get that sense from the poster.)
Actually, instead of a movie, it’s more like a two hour and 15 minute tone poem: There’s little dialogue (no kidding, two characters never speak to each other for the entire first hour of the film), lots of atmospheric shots, little to no plot, short monologues (delivered in a whispery voice over as if they’re a prayer to God), and a whole lot of choral and swelling orchestral music on the soundtrack.
Throw in Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and some dinosaurs too (yes, really), and the whole thing feels like an exercise in filmmaker indulgence. (Or hubris, depending on your preference.) Continue reading
Martin's Musings 