Review of The Tree of Life (2011) by Gerald D — 06 Dec 2012

I didn't know what to expect going in to this film and while the opening montage was visually stunning, I didn't see how it related to the story and the images pretty much were telling the Big Bang evolution in pictures which I didn't agree with so that was distracting.

Once the story started to come together though I thought it was an excellent slice of life story for a kid growing up in the midwest. The writing was awesome. There were so many themes that rang throughout the movie.

Love, spirituality, God, family, violence, death. The acting was great. The overbearing and flawed but loving father, the quiet protective mother, and the messed up eldest son and the dutiful middle child.

It seemed very real. I have my theories about the ending, but I won't mention them here. Was kind of puzzled by how little Sean Penn was in the film, I was expecting a whole other section with his character, but it didn't happen.

Very well directed, acted and filmed. Solid film making.