In Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this series I discussed the Hegelian dialectic between Nature and Grace represented by Jack’s father and mother, and the way that dialectic is used to give structure to the film. The Dialectic Within Jack Just as Thesis and Antithesis are embodied within the characters of father and [...]

As discussed in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series, The Tree of Life is built around a dialectic between Nature, as represented by Jack’s father, and Grace, as represented by his mother.   When using a Hegelian Dialectic to structure your screenplay, it’s important to remember that your characters are more than just [...]

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I discussed how Terence Malick gives shape to central the question of The Tree of Life through the choices of his main character, Jack. The structure through which Malick gives shape to those choices is known as a Hegelian Dialectic: one of the most powerful tools [...]

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the question around which Jack’s journey in The Tree of Life is built: “Why Should I be Good If You’re Not?” Struggling in a world in which both God and Father can act in such contradictions of beauty and violence, Jack the son is left with a [...]

SPOILER ALERT: You may want to come back to this article after you have seen The Tree of Life. Often as writers we get so hung up on linear, narrative structure that we forget that there are completely different forms of screenplay structure that can be equally moving and powerful. What makes Terence Malick’s The [...]