Brad Pitt, who arguably is still one of Hollywood few true superstars, is back on screen in an odd and instantly controversial Terrence Malick opus that is guaranteed only modest box office.
But Pitt has no qualms about starring in The Tree of Life, which played Monday as a gala in the 64th Cannes Film Festival. He did, however, allow himself a little burst of star humour at his press conference. Pitt was asked why, despite being a bona fide movie star, he is rarely in blockbusters such as the Mission: Impossible franchise.
"Don't count me out of Mission: Impossible," Pitt said with a mischievous smile. "I'll be there! I'm not that highbrow."
His recent track record from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to The Tree of Life says differently and Pitt agrees. "You want it to discover, you want it to be about something," Pitt said of any film that attracts him. With The Tree of Life, his personal production company enabled the eccentric, reclusive Malick on the project. "You want to find something new. I always have. I want to find something different. That's been my focus."
The Tree of Life, which generated a giddy mixture of boos and applause at its morning media screening, is a monumentally ambitious film about the fractured lives of one Texas family, starting in the 1950s. Their lives are set against the entire cosmos as Malick shows scenes of the origins of life and the evolution of species on Planet Earth. Macro scenes include dinosaur sequences; micro scenes include the three sons of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain playing kick-the-can with other kids in the streets of in Waco, Texas.
In response to a Sun Media question, Pitt said working with Malick on those personal scenes was extremely unconventional and exciting for the actors. "He (Malick) was like a guy standing there with a butterfly net and ready for that moment of truth to go by."
The characters are complex. While Chastain is a goodly mother, full of grace and love, Pitt plays an oppressive father who bullies his sons to make them tough. Oddly, one grows up to be Sean Penn, who has a cameo role set in contemporary times.
"I was a little hesitant about playing the oppressive father," Pitt said. "But I felt the story was so important it really is about the kids' journey. But I think about it now. My kids (he shares a brood of six with Angelina Jolie) are going to grow up and how are they going to feel (when they see the film)? I hope they'll just say I'm a pretty good actor."
But that left Pitt open to one of those stupid media questions that Cannes press conferences are famous for -- and Pitt decided to mock the question with a mock answer. Paraphrasing, the question went like this: Given that he plays a bad dad, what kind of parent is he?
"I beat my kids regularly," Pitt said dryly about his disciplinary habits. "Seems to do the trick. And (I) deprive them of meals."
Obviously, he is joking (we hope). But Pitt never cracked a smile and never added the usual: "I'm joking!" tagline that would put people at ease. The woman who asked him the question just sat there slack-jawed.
Otherwise, the press conference was civilized, except for concern about the absence of both Malick and Penn. Producer Bill Pohlad said Penn was held up in Haiti to meet with president-elect Michel Martelly about aide issues. "He's on his way." Penn was aiming for the red carpet.
As for Malick, he never had any intention of being at the press conference, unlike 99.9 percent of all other Cannes directors with films in competition. "Terrence is very shy," producer Sarah Green explained, "and I would say that his work speaks for him."
bruce.kirkland@sunmedia.ca
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