The Tree of Life (*****)

At last I have finally found time to watch one of the most talked-about and controversial movies of the year, and to my great satisfaction and amazement, the film both surpassed my expectations and challenged my conceptions of what films can be. Terrence Malik has made only a handful of films in the past 30 or 40 years, but with each one he pushes his limits. With The Tree of Life he has perhaps changed filmmaking forever.

Everyone has heard how 'weird' the film is, with extended montages of the creation of the universe, the end of the world, various characters walking through the desert, heck, we even see some dinosaurs. This is not a movie intended to be viewed with anything but an open mind. Those coming into it hoping to see a great story with the traditional story arc with be unbelievably disappointed. I wouldn't be surprised if many people walked out of this movie within the first minutes - and I couldn't blame them.

The film, simply put, seems to be about life. From conception to birth to death. The birth of the universe and all that has happened since is seemingly juxtaposed with that of a typical family living in the 50's. The lives of such an insignificant family is proven to be one of enormous consequences, and as the opening narration tells us, life is one of either two things: grace or nature.

Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain play the parents. One represents grace, one is nature. The strict disciplinarian nature of Pitt makes his children resent him and cherish the moments he is gone. Chastain indulges the spirit of her children and encourages such 'grace' to grow. These two actors have never been better. Brad Pitt dominates every second he is in, while Chastain matches every emotion. I don't think I've seen two more dynamic or fully-complete performances all year. Oscars would be assured were it not for the controversy surrounding the film.

There are things that people seem born to do, and it seems that Emmanuel Lubezki, the film's cinematographer, was destined to photograph this film. Quite simply put, I don't think I've ever seen more stunning or shocking images than those captured by Lubezki, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will at last win his long-deserved Oscar. The definition of cinematography is soon to be changed to this film alone.

Alexandre Desplat, world-famous composer, crowns the film with a perfect tone. Yes, nearly all the memorable music from the film are works from other composers from history past, but let's not put it past the Academy. Babel won Best Original Score when the majority of the composer's work was simple guitar plucking. The bulk of the soundtrack was source material. This is not to discredit Desplat, who is one of the greatest living composers today, nor to diminish his contributions to the film, which are stunning.

I do believe this film may be a masterpiece, on the same level of genius as 2001: A Space Odyssey in terms of sheer thought and concept. Many will fail to grasp the ideas this film presents, but I don't think it can be debated that The Tree of Life will be remembered as one of the defining moments in the history of cinema. Yes, it's non-linear and abstract, but at least there is a filmmaker out there today who is brave enough to challenge audience members, not just spoon-feed them.

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (or Supporting: Pitt), Best Supporting Actress (Chastain), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects)