Review of The Tree of Life (2011) by Devon W — 12 Jun 2013

Roger Ebert very astutely stated: "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." Empire's Ian Nathan also observed the following motif of investigating life's great personal questions: "What does the loss of a loved one mean against the backdrop of eternity? Much, it transpires.".

The scope of the life of the Earth, as humans can comprehend it, all put into a perspective of the lonely and unfathomable universe, is distilled by Malick into a sense of life, love and longing evoked by a collage of imagery. The sincerity of the emotions that were portrayed on screen, sans the use of dialogue - especially from the boys - was profoundly poignant. The expressiveness of the actors, the naturalness of behavior in their performances, and the cinematography itself convey so much emotion and insight that the spirit of the characters seem to be laid bare, which makes them ultimately relatable. The way in which Malick was able to accomplish such a sense of transcendent beauty and meaning by capturing "memories" of nostalgic American family life is simply astounding.

The film is just captivating; it contemplates the miracle of all creation from the very beginning, but in the end the inescapable message is that all the beauty present in the world regardless of how small or insignificant is to be cherished and not ignored.