Tree of Life (2011)

2014-05-04

There is a lot of wonderful editing and gorgeous shots, most especially in the beginning... the first 20 minutes, just before the pre-historic, beginning of life section. My favorite of these shots is the waterfall. It's amazing. Also, in those 20 minutes, I enjoyed the Sean Penn moments the most... I don't remember corporate environments shot (and edited) that way.

There is not much else to celebrate, unfortunately: Brad Pitt is miscast (i.e. unconvincing), the movie is mostly boring and unbearably meditative, and much of mutterings (prayers and thoughts) of the characters unintelligible, like I'm supposed to fill in the blanks. I also don't know what the point of the entire exercise is, though I liked the fact that the strict father wasn't presented in a shallow manner... he had sweet moments, and even apologized for his shitty behavior.