THE TREE

This was a beautifully moving film about a family dealing with the unexpected death of their husband / father.  He has a heart attack while driving home from work one day and crashes into the large tree outside their house.  His young daughter, Simone, is convinced that her father’s spirit / soul has been transferred into the tree and that she can hear him speaking to her.  Whether or not this is true, or just a way of coping with her grief, we don’t know, but when the Dawn (the widow) starts dating again, a giant branch from the tree mysteriously breaks off and destroys part of the house, specifically her bedroom.  When the neighbours attempt to have the tree taken down, due to the roots destroying everything, the family come together to protect it.  

I’ve talked about casting a lot already, and this film is another example of great casting.  From Charlotte Gainsbourg (who must have a thing for trees after both this and the recent “Antichrist”) as Dawn, the mother, to all the kids, they are all fantastic and so believable as a family.  The real standout, though, is Morgana Davies who plays Simone.  She is simply amazing which is quite a feat as this is her first acting role to date.  Overall, I really like this movie a lot, but any film that deals with a daughter trying to cope with the loss of her father is obviously going to pull at my heartstrings.  The final thing I’ll mention is just how good and emotional the finale is that happens during a cyclone.

4 Stars - Viewed at the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival