20 Worst Best Picture Film Nominees Since 2010
4. The Tree Of Life
Normally, an art-house film being nominated for Best Picture would be a triumphant event, since such movies are rarely nominated, but in this case it was a not a 'Punch the air' moment. Most were probably thinking "What the actual hell?!"
Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is a ridiculous film. A nonsensical mixture of overlong creation montages, nauseatingly pretentious voiceovers, people twirling, meaningless surrealism and... CGI dinosaurs, this is like a parody of up-themselves art-house films.
That's not to say that this is a worthless film. The performances from Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and young actor Hunter McCracken are terrific, the cinematography is exquisite and some of the stuff in the family drama subplot is interesting, but for the most part this'll either bore viewers to sleep or leave them beyond-infuriated. In fact, it'll probably do both.
Terence Malick is a very talented and smart director and there was an intelligent movie buried in here somewhere, but because the presentation of the film's ideas is so impenetrable and convoluted, nothing really comes through.
Therefore, since this movie is so flawed and since it was actually very divisive upon release, this is another unjust Best Picture nominee from 2012. Seriously, were the voters all on drugs that year?