First Still Images and Synopsis of The Tree of Life Starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn
Posted 12.04.10 by BrentJS
Writer-director Terrence Malick's (The New World) new movie, The Tree of Life, has been shrouded in mystery since it was first teased way back in August 2005. The project has gone through many changes since then, including several casting changes, with Colin Farrell, Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger all attached at one point or another before Malick settled on Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.
The first trailer for the movie premiered last night with the debut of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, but it has yet to be released online. However, a detailed synopsis of the movie was released at the 2010 American Film Market, the annual production and distribution convention that screens upwards of 800 movies over an eight-day period, and you can get a look at the stars of the movie in a pair of still images recently published online by the L.A. Times, featuring Pitt as Mr. O'Brien, the strict father of the main character, Jack (played by Hunter McCracken) and Penn as adult Jack.
From the Desk of Terrence Malick.....
We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, JACK, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth.
From this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part. When he sees all that has gone into our world’s preparation, each thing appears a miracle—precious, incomparable. Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life.
The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, in the everyday and above all in the family—our first school—the only place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves, or discover life’s single most important lesson, of unselfish love.
Jessica Chastain also stars as Jack's mother, Mrs. O'Brien, with Joanna Going playing Jack's wife.
Next Showing: The Tree of Life opens May 27, 2011