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The only way to be happy is to love. Unless you love, your life will flash by.


The Tree of Life
(2011)

It's not going to convert anyone who's been on the fence about Malick's films, but this is probably the "most Malick" of anything he has done so far, again utilising the device of internal monologues that helped make The Thin Red Line so memorable and purposefully incorporating half-whispered remembrances to create a lyrical marriage of sound and image (for good reason there is a suggestion to turn up the volume before watching).

None of the conceits seem remotely out-of-place (the excursion to the dawn of creation), probably because the grounding of the film is so recognisably small scale (a family in '50s America). Performance-wise Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain give insightful performances as the parents, while the cast of new faces as the children acquit themselves well. 

Penn-wise, I can see why he's a tad pissed-off as he's hardly in it - and not particularly interesting when he is. As with all Malick's work, it resonates long after you've finished watching.

*****

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