The Tree of Life - Discussion Guide

 
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Summary

In 1950s' Texas, the O'Brien family lives an ordinary, peaceful life, entirely unsuspecting of the fact that one of the three boys will be dead just a decade later. In the present day, the oldest son, Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn), is still struggling with questions which have lingered from his childhood: Why was his father so demanding and angry? How was his mother able to show such unconditional love despite Jack's and his father's actions and attitudes? Where was God when a boy drowned in a swimming pool? And, of course, he is still struggling to make sense of his own brother's death.

Writer-director Terrence Malick sets this story and these questions in a bigger context - a cosmic one. Questions about nature and grace, death and meaning go beyond the confines of a single life or a single family; they extend to the very core of reality. If there is a God, what kind of God is he? How is he at work in history? The Tree of Life interweaves Jack's story with the early history of planet Earth, the beginning and development of life, and ultimately the end of life and of the planet as it is absorbed into the red giant Sun. Jack's life is infinitesimally small when seen on this canvas, but does that mean it is insignificant?

Background

Terrence Malick is a highly revered film-maker, despite having only made four previous feature films (Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998) and The New World (2005)) in almost four decades. He is known for unconventional approaches to narrative, a poetic, impressionistic approach and a deeply philosophical aspect to his work. Malick started discussing the film with producers in the mid-2000s, but the first ideas for the prehistoric sections of The Tree of Life seem to have their origin in a project which Malick was working on soon after Days of Heaven (1978). It was expected to be released in 2009, but was delayed repeatedly until finally it premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it was greeted by both rapturous applause and boos. The film won the Palme D'Or, and has been nominated for Best Picture, Directing and Cinematography in the 2012 Academy Awards, but it continues to divide critics.

There is a semi-autobiographical aspect to The Tree of Life as well as the expected philosophical and theological dimensions. Born in 1943 in Waco, Texas, Terrence Malick grew up in in a family very much like that in the film. He was the oldest of three boys, and his father worked for a petroleum company. One of his brothers, Larry, was a gifted guitarist who, in the late 1960s went to Spain to study with Segovia. In his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind recounts that in 1968 Larry broke his hands because of the pressure he was under. Their father asked Terrence to go to see Larry, as he was then a Rhodes Scholar, studying postgraduate philosophy in Oxford. Biskind writes, 'Terry refused. The father went himself, and returned with Larry's body. He had apparently committed suicide. Terry . . . always bore a heavy burden of guilt.'

Questions for discussion

1. What was your first reaction to The Tree of Life? How did it make you feel? What did you come away from it thinking about? In what ways have your feelings toward it changed subsequently?

2. Is the style of the film something which you find engaging, or does it alienate you? How does that affect the way that you think about the story?

3. Why do you think this film divides viewers so strongly? What aspects of the film do you find most impressive? Which aspects don't work for you? Why?

4. What effect does the early indication that one of the O'Brien's children is dead have on the way that you viewed the rest of the film?

5. 'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?' (Job 38:4,7, NKJV)
   
   Why does Terrence Malick begin the film with this quote from the Old Testament? To what extent is it an interpretive key for all that follows?

6. 'Help each other. Love everyone. Every leaf. Every ray of light. Forgive.'
   
   How would you describe the character of Mrs O'Brien (Jessica Chastain)? Why is she like this? How does she represent 'grace'? How does her love affect Jack (Hunter McCracken/Sean Penn)?

7. 'Your mother's naive. It takes fierce will to get ahead in this world. If you're good, people take advantage of you.'
   
   How would you describe the character of Mr O'Brien (Brad Pitt)? Why is he like this? How does he represent 'nature'? How do his demands and his anger affect Jack?

8. Why does young Jack find it difficult to navigate life? What prompts the various choices he makes about how to behave? How does he respond to his parents?

9. 'Brother. Mother. It was they that led me to your door.' – Jack
   
   To what extent does Jack shooting his younger brother's finger become a turning point for him? How did his brother and mother lead him to God's door?

10. 'The nuns taught us there are two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow. Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked.' – Mrs O'Brien
    
    How does this idea work throughout the film? What does young Jack learn about this?

11. 'Where were You? You let a boy die. You let anything happen. Why should I be good? When You aren't.' – Jack
    
    To what extent do you identify with Jack's reaction to the death of the boy? How do the sequences of space, prehistory and the demise of Earth help us in getting the deaths of the boy and of Jack's brother into right perspective?

12. In what ways do you think that Jack's impression of God is shaped by his experience of his parents, especially his father? Why is this a mistaken, if natural, thing to do? What has shaped your understanding of God?

13. 'I wanted to be loved because I was great; a big man. I'm nothing. Look at the glory around us; trees, birds. I lived in shame. I dishonoured it all, and didn't notice the glory. I'm a foolish man.' – Mr O'Brien
    
    Why is Mr O'Brien's discovery so important? Do you think that his description of himself can be applied to our society? Why/why not?

14. What do you think Terrence Malick most wants us to take away from this film? Is there any way in which it has helped you develop your own thinking, or correct your perspectives?

15. How do you respond to the idea that God's universe is one in which both nature and grace are at work, but that he will ensure that, ultimately, grace will triumph?

16. Jack and his father (and, apparently, Terrence Malick) experience profound shame over their actions and attitudes. Why is forgiveness so vital? What does it mean to you that the perfectly pure and holy God who created everything offers us forgiveness through the death of his Son, Jesus Christ?

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