Saturday, July 16, 2011

Review: The Tree of Life



Review: The Tree of Life
Rating: *
Nonna's Rating: $
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Audience: 65%

There are so many aspects of this film that would tend to make me enjoy it: beautiful photography; images of interstellar space; Brad Pitt; Sean Penn; good acting all around; an accurate depiction of the 1950s, especially 1950s fathers and mothers; complex sibling relationships; and a distinctly Christian subtext. But I was bored by the whole thing and found it annoyingly pretentious--and I loved Terrence Malick's film Days of Heaven. I wanted to say, "Yes, growing up in the 50s sometimes sucked, but, accept it, get over it, and get on with your life." The whole film seemed an intense exercise in navel-gnawing of the worst kind. Nevertheless, plenty of people seem to have liked this film, so perhaps you should make up your mind yourself if you're so inclined. But don't blame me if you don't like it.

Nonna's Ratings:
$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

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