The TV Addict 

Reading through Variety’s report that Jessica Chastain has been cast along Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in Terrence Malick’s (BADLANDS, DAYS OF HEAVEN, THE THIN RED LINE, THE NEW WORLD) what struck me was the plot description in the article. Until now I’d always assumed the film was as the synopsis on IMDB describes it: “In a mystical world of folklore, several individuals embrace in a race to find the Tree of Life, said to give immortality, fertility, and other supernatural powers.” Yet, the Variety news piece notes that “[the] story concerns the loss of innocence as seen through the eyes of the son of the characters portrayed by Pitt and Chastain.” Now I suppose the two synopses are not incompatible, even if one sounds like either a Terry Gilliam film or THE FOUNTAIN, and the other sounds like the kind of promising dramatic coming of age story Malick is perfectly suited to take on. It just seems odd to me to have two different respectable sources describing the story in different ways. Especially when you get this state of the union piece from Screengrab that discuses the story in the same way Variety does. Given the shroud of secrecy Malick surrounds himself with there seems little chance of getting any clarification from the man himself. Regardless, a Malick film is always an event to behold, so I can’t wait till it comes out next year.

Source: Variety