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THE TREE (2011)Movie Reviews
Drama about a young girl who believes her dead father's spirit inhabits a tree, and her mother's attempts to help her let go of the ghost. Cast:Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton CsokasDirector:Julie BertucelliRelease Date:July 15, 2011DVD Release:November 15, 2011From:ZeitgeistLength:1 hr 40 min
NOVEMBER 15, 2011
The Tree (2011), Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
The Tree (2011) played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Patrick Z. McGavin wrote for Cinema 24/7, "...a quiet, moody, contemplative story of mourning and recovery... a whispery film that lies just beyond our grasp..." • And Calvin Wilson wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...few actresses are quite so empathetic or enthralling as Charlotte Gainsbourg." More Reviews Below...
The Tree (2011) Positive Reviews (25 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Gainsbourg, with her sexy-sad knitted brow, is the right actress to play an Aussie mother of four whose husband dies... this is a movie that's content to stand still."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 92 words, 07/22/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...gorgeous... makes the most of its metaphors without straining toward supernatural schmaltz. That's not easy in a story that has many of the qualities of a fairy tale..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 735 words, 07/15/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...is its own excursion into spirits, and anger, in the natural world.... falls short of being revelatory, yet has a mysterious, sturdy power that grows on you."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 07/15/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...a lyrical story of loss and longing... As compelling as Gainsbourg is to watch, the character's passivity saps the film of energy, especially in its first half..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 07/22/11
John Anderson, New York Newsday: WEAK(cg) "Simone on the page seems to be five years older than the young Ms. Davies, whose performance is not just unsympathetic, but obnoxious, which skews the entire film..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 300 words, 10/07/11
Greg Quill, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's a small film, almost a parable in its simplicity and predictability, but it gains extra strength from its hybrid industrial origins."(See all of Greg Quill's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 07/07/11
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Julie Bertuccelli is sometimes partial to clumsy dialogue and scattershot pacing. But Charlotte Gainsbourg and Morgana Davies make a memorable parent-child pair..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 229 words, 07/13/11
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "By the time we reach the climactic ending, the script clearly calls for an exorcist with a chainsaw to trim back this metaphor run amok."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 07/08/11
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "Sometimes a great performance by a child actor is simply not enough.... Sounds hokey, but ironically, the problem with 'The Tree' is that it needs even more contrivance."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 07/07/11
KEY CITIES (8 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Charlotte Gainsbourg is the perfect actress to play Dawn.... offers up a complex, if familiar, portrait of the way a grown-up copes with loss."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 552 words, 07/22/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a storm-tossed meditation on grief and loss... a small and lovely tangle of mystery and emotion.... Gainsbourg's performance feels lived-in, and deep, and right."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 304 words, 08/26/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...lyrical.... the story has a winning, fable-like directness.... Gainsbourg, with her fetching butter-pat nose, is always fun to watch."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 103 words, 08/19/11
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "In choosing between two romances - a woman and her employer, a girl and her daddy-tree - it pretends that both are dramatically compelling, when, really, one would do."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 07/22/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "The movie never commits to a point of view... I lost patience with a widow who is grieving one month and then making out with a guy in a bar the next."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 281 words, 07/29/11
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A poetic tale of loss and starting over.... floats gently into magic realism.... Beautifully filmed in the harsh, dry landscape, 'The Tree' is often mesmerizing..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 322 words, 08/12/11
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...few actresses are quite so empathetic or enthralling as Charlotte Gainsbourg. Those qualities elevate 'The Tree' from a cerebral allegory to a poignant fairy tale."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 321 words, 09/02/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "...something of a stretch; but it's a good stretch, a mix of mysticism and family dynamics both satisfying and intriguing."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 397 words, 11/04/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Julie Bertuccelli is sometimes partial to clumsy dialogue and scattershot pacing. But Charlotte Gainsbourg and Morgana Davies make a memorable parent-child pair..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 229 words, 07/13/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...succeeds most when it sticks to a detached naturalism, both in long shots of the landscape and the interactions of the subdued, complex characters."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 166 words, 07/21/11
Andrew Schenker, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "In the end, it's all according to the schema, a fact that the combined splendor of the Australian outback and Nigel Bluck's cinematographic talents are powerless to hide."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 07/11/11
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "Sometimes a great performance by a child actor is simply not enough.... Sounds hokey, but ironically, the problem with 'The Tree' is that it needs even more contrivance."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 07/07/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...gorgeous... makes the most of its metaphors without straining toward supernatural schmaltz. That's not easy in a story that has many of the qualities of a fairy tale..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 735 words, 07/15/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...a lyrical story of loss and longing... As compelling as Gainsbourg is to watch, the character's passivity saps the film of energy, especially in its first half..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 07/22/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Robert Koehler, Daily Variety: GOOD "...the elemental conflict -- between a little girl's willfulness, born out of love that won't let go of the dead, and her family's urge to get on with the living -- is expressively filmed."(See all of Robert Koehler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 724 words, 05/22/10
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...will appeal to those who like to believe that upon death, human beings take other forms -- in this case a towering woody perennial -- and bore those who do not."(See all of Ray Bennett's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 400 words, 10/15/10
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...a lyrical story of loss and longing... As compelling as Gainsbourg is to watch, the character's passivity saps the film of energy, especially in its first half..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 07/22/11
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...gorgeous... makes the most of its metaphors without straining toward supernatural schmaltz. That's not easy in a story that has many of the qualities of a fairy tale..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 735 words, 07/15/11
14.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Tree (2011)'s reviews are separated by an average 14.4 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Tree (2011) (25 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Tree (2011)'s reviews cover 27.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 9,494 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 380 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Tree (2011) Coverage, Volume & Length (25 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 35.2 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Tree (2011)'s reviews on average broke 35.2 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Tree (2011)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Tree (2011) (25 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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