The Tree of Life: God's Grace vs. Nature

After discussing how monster movies make us think about grace I thought about another film.

Director Terrence Malick in his film The Tree of Life tries to deal with the age old question 'Why do bad things happen to good people?'. The film opens with a passage from Job 38 where God answers Job’s question with another, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? …when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

The creation story parallels that of the O’Brien family. We see Jack O'Brien being born mirroring the birth of the universe and the evolution of the earth while Jack is brought up under the supervision of his parents. When presented with hardship in his life, the death of his brother and his friends, Jack's perception of the world is changed. He becomes angry at his authoritarian father for his misdeeds while lashing out at his mother for allowing it. This further parallels the Job narrative as it reflects humanity lashing out and questioning its creator over suffering it has endured. Jack feels lost in the modern world and reflects on the two opposing forces in his life.

Grace is represented by Jack's Mother while nature is his father. Mr. O'Brien is harsh and his self-absorbed personality is obsessed with being competitive and he tries to impart this onto his sons. In contrast, Mrs. O’Brien exudes kindness often putting herself second for the sake of her family. In one of her voice overs Mrs. O’Brien says “Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them… The Nuns taught us that no one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end.”

Malik's message is that life is a gift and that living in nature is brought to life with grace. If one does not accept this gift and live graciously then they inflict hardship on themselves. The best example is Mr. O'Brien when he he sends his family away at dinner after being defied by his son. They leave him by himself to wallow. His dis-grace is apparent as his pride has left to his being alone He eventually laments the course his life has taken and questions whether he has been a good enough person. He reconciles with Jack, asking forgiveness for his harsh treatment of him.

                                              *The cast and crew discuss the film's narrative*

Jack is a combination of his parents and reconciles himself in the end with a vision where he is reunited with his family and all the people who populate his memory. Malick does not simply depict a simple dualism where nature is bad and grace is good. The point he tries to get across is that “nature” is harsh without grace and both nature and grace are aspects of God's love and creation. Our approach to life hinges upon the appreciation of this gift.