Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life is a true cinematic rarity, relying heavily on aural and visual complexity and ignoring a linear narrative to create a piece that immerses the viewer so entirely in the filmic world there’s no escaping it. From the dinosaur cameo to the fragmented narrative, this family drama is a weaves in and out of Jack O’Brien’s life from an existential crisis in a modern world to his coming of age in small town Texas to a release of Jack’s conflicted identity, and acceptance of the boy he was and the man he is.
This film is an incredibly dynamic view of the bildungsroman because coming of age appears to last throughout Jack’s life. Malick navigates these muddy waters with immense delicacy and unparalleled beauty. The camera follows the uncertainties of becoming a man while addressing the insecurities of manhood through fragmented memories. The dream-like quality of the film evokes a visual recalling of subjective memories – the viewer analyses Jack’s life as he remembers it, through his emotional subjectivity. The non-linear narrative structure forces the viewer to call into question Jack’s coming of age, while relating it back to his anxiety in middle age.
Tree of Life is a long and fraught tale of the male ego, shedding the influence of his father and mother, while also accepting how that informed him as a man.
