Watching Tree of Life is less like watching a film than it is like contemplating and meditating upon the meaning of life itself. As Roger Ebert said, the film is a prayer -- and for that reason, one's engagement with it depends upon one's desire to communicate with the Divinity, whose presence is at the heart of the narrative.
The narrative of Tree of Life is another thing that is non-traditional. The plot is non-linear: it flashes through points in time in disorienting ways to show that time itself is fleeting and that only the soul is eternal -- therefore, prime importance should be given to the life of soul -- not to things that will pass away. The film is not so much the telling of a story as it is a reflection of human nature: the struggle to do good and avoid evil, the battle of wills: the desire to be united to God and the desire to please instead one's self. Such is the premise of the film, established by Mrs. O'Brien when she reflects that there are "two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace." Here is the conflict -- and it is portrayed with such subtlety and dimension that audiences unused to confining their attention to the life of the soul and the life of nature are sure to think they are being had. (Many are the voices of the plebeians who, at the film's conclusion, rise up in consternation crying foul -- I myself...
The audience, essentially, must make the same decision to follow the way of grace as the characters of Tree of Life must make: following the way of grace becomes the plot of not only the film but of our own lives. Those who rush out and refuse to give it any thought miss experiencing the ultimate cathartic effect.
In conclusion, much could be said of Malick's Tree of Life -- but for one to truly understand (like all good things), it must be experienced oneself: not just once, not even just twice -- but time and time again. Like a Wagnerian opera, it is a total work of art that encompasses more than a mere moment in time: it is, essentially, a study of God.
Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. "A Prayer beneath The Tree of Life." Chicago Sun-Times. 17 May 2011.
Web. 23 June 2011.
Labrecque, Jeff. "Tree of Life: What is Terrence Malick's summer opus really about?"
28 Apr 2011. EW.com. Web. 23 June 2011.
Malick, Terrence, dir. The Tree of Life. Los Angeles: Fox Searchlight, 2011. Film.
