Review of The Tree of Life (2011) by Antena — 15 Jun 2011

First off, if you are looking for a traditional narrative, this is not the movie for you; the film contains probably less than ten pages of actual dialogue. Not all stories have to be told with words alone, and the striking, beautiful and compelling images of this film tell the story of this Texas family quite well.

Brad Pitt is especially good in the multi-layered role of the father; there's a quiet intensity to his performance, and the young actors are also good. The Tree of Life is very impressionistic and abstract; it challenges you to follow along and to keep up with it.

I haven't seen too many movies recently that I was still thinking about a week after seeing it. I understand that there are some who won't want to make that kind of investment on a weekend movie night.

For those that do, the payoff is rewarding.