85
Metascore
50 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangResult is pure-grade art cinema destined primarily for the delectation of Malick partisans and adventurous arthouse-goers.
- 100Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichThe Tree of Life enthralls right from the start.
- 100Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonBetter than a masterpiece - whatever that is - The Tree of Life is an eruption of a movie, something to live with, think, and talk about afterward.
- 90Boxoffice MagazineWade MajorBoxoffice MagazineWade MajorAggressively impressionistic and unapologetically spiritual, Malick's long-gestating meditation on the meaning of life is, if nothing else, a singularly original and deeply personal film - a growing rarity in American cinema.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyBrandishing an ambition it's likely no film, including this one, could entirely fulfill, The Tree of Life is nonetheless a singular work, an impressionistic metaphysical inquiry into mankind's place in the grand scheme of things that releases waves of insights amid its narrative imprecisions.
- 90SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirThe Tree of Life is pretty much nuts overall, a manic hybrid folly with flashes of brilliance. But even if that's true it's a noble crazy, a miraculous William Butler Yeats kind of crazy, alive with passion for art and the world, for all that is lost and not lost and still to come.
- 90The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneTucked away inside the grandeur, though, and enlivened by jump cuts, is a sharp, not unharrowing story of a father and son, and, amid one's exasperation, there is no mistaking Malick's unfailing ability to grab at glories on the fly.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumMalick clings to the promise of grace: His vision of the afterlife is a dreamy beach, enhanced by an excellent playlist of fine classical music, and promising the peace that surpasses all understanding. Plus a beautiful sky.
- 80New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAfter warming up with "The Thin Red Line" and "The New World," Malick has succeeded in fully creating his own film syntax, his own temporal reality, and lo, it is … kind of goofy. But riveting.