By Stuart Lamkin
The Tree of Life is a piece of art. It tries to tell the story of life — at times beautiful, mysterious, moving and confusing.
Writer and director Terrence Malick has made only four other movies over a span of 40 years — The New World, The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven and Badlands. All question people’s motivations and life’s purpose.
The Tree of Life begins with an onscreen quote from Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the Earth, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4,7). It is God’s voice, spoken from a whirlwind, after Job argued that he has lived righteously and demanded to know why he has suffered so much loss. The characters in The Tree of Life wonder the same thing.
While the scope of the story is grand, the plot itself is small. As an adult, Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn) is still grieving over the loss of his younger brother, who died at age 19. Struggling to find meaning in life, he recalls formative moments as a child when life was unsettled, mystical and wild.
The family’s mother (Jessica Chastain) frames the story’s paths: “There were two ways through life — the way of nature and the way of grace.”
|
The father, Mr. O’Brien (Brad Pitt), stands for nature. He is a distant, 1950s disciplinarian father. He loves his three sons, but his love is tough and awkward for the boys to receive. He is at times violent but also plays beautiful music. He demonstrates the dichotomy of nature — its danger and its beauty.
Mrs. O’Brien’s grace contrasts her husband’s harsh nature. If he lives like the God of the Old Testament, with judgment and discipline, she lives like the God of the New. She encourages her sons to help one another and to love everyone.
Voiceover narration whispered by many characters throughout the film questions God. They ask what everyone asks amid suffering: “Lord, why? Where were you? Did you know what happened? Do you care? Are you watching me? I want to know what you are. I want to see what you see. Why should I be good if you aren’t?”
Jack’s difficulty in understanding his father reflects humanity’s struggle to understand God. At times we marvel at God’s beauty; at other times we lament what feels like God’s judgment, discipline or absence. Jack’s confusion leaves him lost and empty. The film portrays his wandering metaphorically in deserts and canyons until his search for meaning brings him to a shore. It is a place where the broken are healed and where the lost are found. The heavenly scene of homecoming made me cry.
|
In the O’Brien family, Malick presents us with metaphors for the grace and nature that has always existed in the universe. The film shows that eternal beauty through images of creation — trees, lights, colors and space — images that could be cosmic or microscopic. They show the fury of creation as the universe and the earth were formed. Life erupts with chaotic force and then builds into more complexity, from the age of dinosaurs to now. Yes, there are dinosaurs in the movie, but they help show how precious and fragile life is.
You won’t know exactly what all the images are, and that confusion can be frustrating. The Tree of Life is not your normal movie, but it raises deep questions for people of faith. It celebrates and depicts both the beauty and chaos of life, on grand and small scales.
The film reminds us that life is ongoing, only in different forms — large and small, joy and sadness. In all things and at all times, God is present. God’s love is constant, and God’s beauty is all around.