The Tree

The process of grieving is a deeply personal and unique experience for each and every one of us. For some, it involves retreating into isolation, with little more than the bed covers for company. For others, it is about going with the flow of emotion, whether positive, negative or a combination of both. For certain members of the population, rebellion, rebirth and even redemption are part and parcel of coping with death. For a select few, acceptance and pragmatism come early, with the loss incorporated into everyday life. And for more still, it is about holding on to whatever is left by identifying and coveting any remaining connection to those that have passed on. Most commonly, it involves elements of the above in varying quantities, in an affecting and inimitable ordeal capable of shaping the course of lives.

In Julie Bertucelli’s poignant second feature The Tree, all of the above aspects of mourning come together in a story of an ordinary family dealing with the extraordinary aftershocks of the inevitable yet still unexpected end that awaits us all. A French / Australian co-production shot in south eastern Queensland’s scenic Boonah region, it adapts Judy Pascoe’s unique novel “Our Father Who Art in The Tree” into a poetic, powerful and somewhat predictable depiction of grief starring Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Science of Sleep), Marton Csokas (South Solitary) and Aden Young (Mao’s Last Dancer) in the key adult roles alongside a cast of talented child actors including Morgana Davies (in her first feature role), Tom Russell (Last Ride), and Christian Byers (December Boys).

The closing night film at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, The Tree opens with Peter (Young), a young father and husband returning from a day at work. Collecting his tomboy daughter Simone (Davies) from an afternoon spent skylarking unsupervised, he heads towards the iconic Moreton Bay fig tree that adorns his quaint country home. Mere metres away from his front door – at the foot of the tree, infact – a sudden pain in his arm announces the end of his life, with Simone watching on unaware. Arriving too late, his wife Dawn (Gainsbourg) and sons Tim (Byers), Lou (Russell) and Charlie (toddler Gabriel Gotting) are devastated, with their happy family unit shattered by the abrupt loss of their patriarch.

Left in a remote town with a family of four children, Dawn spends months wallowing in sorrow, oblivious to the goings on around her and the attempts by all and sundry to help her face her grief. By necessity Tim takes the practical approach and assumes the role of provider, however his impending tertiary schooling ensures his stint in charge is short-lived. Lou divides his time between fighting with his sister, running about with his friends, and watching his mother in silence – a silence that Charlie has embraced as the baby of the family. Only Simone seeks a different path, finding solace in the limbs and leaves of her beloved tree – a tree that she believes holds the spirit of her dearly departed father.

In an effort to divert Dawn from sadness, Simone shares the secret of the tree with her mother, who dismisses her original disbelief to similarly accept the seemingly far-fetched notion. Awakening from a veil of gloom, her new-found conviction inspires her to venture into town, where she takes an admin job working for local plumber George (Csokas). As time moves on, a relationship blooms, coincident with the roots and branches of the Moreton Bay fig threatening to destroy the family home. Faced with the choice of a new future or retaining her links to Peter through Simone’s beloved tree, Dawn is forced to confront her status as a mother, wife and woman left behind in the midst of tragedy and second chances.

Grief is a common subject in film, popularised of late by everything from Father Of My Children to Boy, The Waiting City to Inception, with further recent DVD releases Five Minutes Of Heaven, Quiet Chaos and Genova also broaching the subject. Although a potentially trying topic, the breadth of coverage in everything from comedies to drama has ensured that a number of notable cinematic offerings exist. Indeed, deserved recent Academy Award nominee A Single Man may earn its place as the most masterful of current efforts on the topic, however The Tree also excels in this realm, ranking amongst the most enigmatic and realistic modern explorations in the territory.

Made seven years after Bertucelli’s debut effort Since Otar Left, The Tree catalogues the grieving process to great effect, embracing themes of humanity, intricacy and intimacy so keenly demonstrated in her earlier work – and perhaps influenced by her stint as an assistant director on Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours: Blue and Three Colours: White. A saga of desolation and regeneration wrapped up in a reflective and authentic package of mourning, it unravels a complex and fractured family unit reaching out and hanging on in a time of need, with obvious and intended comparisons drawn to the uneasy journey of the tree that gives the film its title.

Yet despite the best of intentions, The Tree falls just short of heights it strives for, let down ever so slightly by the coupling of a formulaic plot with a little too much sentiment for many tastes. Similar in tone and style to Scott Hicks’ The Boys Are Back, it remains expected but enchanting nonetheless, lifted by an emotive script (adapted by Bertucelli from Elizabeth J. Mars’ screenplay of the novel), powerful performances from newcomer Davies and screen favourite Gainsbourg (in a role far removed from her turn in Antichrist, despite similar subject matter), and an accurate representation of grieving that shines through as the film’s salient strength, albeit with a slight supernatural bent.

The Tree opens in cinemas nationwide on September 30th, 2010.

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Tags: Australia, Australian film, drama, films, grief, movies, The Tree