The Tree of Life
Rent & Buy
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
What critics thought
Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winner divides along a clear fault line: critics who surrender to its non-linear, cosmological sweep tend to call it a masterwork, while those who resist find it self-absorbed and airless. The performances, Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography, and the film's spiritual ambition draw near-universal comment, but whether that ambition is fulfilled or merely gestured at remains the central argument — one that started with boos and applause at Cannes and hasn't settled since.
“The Tree of Life is a film of vast ambition and deep humility, attempting no less than to encompass all of existence and view it through the prism of a few infinitesimal lives.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Brandishing an ambition it's likely no film, including this one, could entirely fulfill, The Tree of Life is nonetheless a singular work, an impressionistic metaphysical inquiry into mankind's place in the grand scheme of things that releases waves of insights amidst its narrative imprecisions.”
Todd McCarthy·The Hollywood Reporter
“achingly slow, almost buckling under the weight of its swoony poetry.”
Sukhdev Sandhu·The Daily Telegraph
“a gargantuan work of pretension and cleverly concealed self-absorption.”
Stephanie Zacharek·Movieline
“The sheer beauty of this film is almost overwhelming, but as with other works of religiously minded art, its aesthetic glories are tethered to a humble and exalted purpose, which is to shine the light of the sacred on secular reality”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Terrence MalickDirector
Brad PittMr. O'Brien
Jessica ChastainMrs. O'Brien
Hunter McCrackenYoung Jack
Sean PennJack
Fiona ShawGrandmother
Tye SheridanSteve
Will WallaceArchitect
Alexandre DesplatComposer
Emmanuel LubezkiCinematographyThe Tree of Life
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
What critics thought
Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winner divides along a clear fault line: critics who surrender to its non-linear, cosmological sweep tend to call it a masterwork, while those who resist find it self-absorbed and airless. The performances, Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography, and the film's spiritual ambition draw near-universal comment, but whether that ambition is fulfilled or merely gestured at remains the central argument — one that started with boos and applause at Cannes and hasn't settled since.
“The Tree of Life is a film of vast ambition and deep humility, attempting no less than to encompass all of existence and view it through the prism of a few infinitesimal lives.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Brandishing an ambition it's likely no film, including this one, could entirely fulfill, The Tree of Life is nonetheless a singular work, an impressionistic metaphysical inquiry into mankind's place in the grand scheme of things that releases waves of insights amidst its narrative imprecisions.”
Todd McCarthy·The Hollywood Reporter
“achingly slow, almost buckling under the weight of its swoony poetry.”
Sukhdev Sandhu·The Daily Telegraph
“a gargantuan work of pretension and cleverly concealed self-absorption.”
Stephanie Zacharek·Movieline
“The sheer beauty of this film is almost overwhelming, but as with other works of religiously minded art, its aesthetic glories are tethered to a humble and exalted purpose, which is to shine the light of the sacred on secular reality”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Terrence MalickDirectorBrad PittMr. O'BrienJessica ChastainMrs. O'BrienHunter McCrackenYoung JackSean PennJackFiona ShawGrandmotherTye SheridanSteveWill WallaceArchitectAlexandre DesplatComposerEmmanuel LubezkiCinematographyRent & Buy