the tree of life — Imported Blog — Your Site Title

March 22, 2013 Eimear Fallon

And Rushmore couldn’t be more twee if it tried. Leave me to my Daddy issues, philistine. — And Rushmore couldn’t be more twee if it tried. Leave me to my Daddy issues, philistine.

March 22, 2013 Eimear Fallon

Watched: The Tree of Life

Observations:

Casey, I suspect this just wasn’t your type of movie.
This is getting me to think a lot about the relationships I have within my own family. Maybe this sort of thing is odd these days, but we tick a lo… — Watched: The Tree of Life

Observations:

Casey, I suspect this just wasn’t your type of movie.

This is getting me to think a lot about the relationships I have within my own family. Maybe this sort of thing is odd these days, but we tick a lot of boxes when it comes to stereotypes (an emotionally distant but ultimately loving father, a mother in touch with her feelings and inclined towards leniency, and a son who still struggles to work out a middle ground between the two), and so do the family in this film.

Maybe that’s a flaw. One thing at the back of my mind, even as parts of this film were really getting at thoughts I often bury or don’t fully consider, is that families who deviate from cliché might struggle to connect fully with a film like this. Obviously, it didn’t click with everyone.

Terrence Malick films are always earnest with a completely straight face, usually staying right on the line and never deviating; there was a brief sequence, about three minutes from the end, where it stepped over. Not the bit on the beach, but with the protagonist’s mother and wife. A little too spelled-out.

This is very pretty. Do I need to say that?

I like the sorts of films that stay quiet long enough for you to consider what’s going on. Silence is criminally underused in film, and as a result it makes a lot of people uncomfortable - or, worse, bored. This keeps quiet a lot.

Not perfect, but with moments of dazzling brilliance.

March 21, 2013 Eimear Fallon

Queued. I’m guessing that I’m going to love The Tree of Life (because I love Terrence Malick, shut up Casey), have no idea what to expect from James Dean (the number of times I accidentally mispelled that name drafting this), am excited about Detachment and can only assume that Behind Enemy Lines is a prequel to The Royal Tenenbaums. Am I close?