Pigs in heaven book5/8/2023 ![]() Malick and other moviemakers who’ve taken a shot at staging heaven are looking to answer the big question: What, if anything, comes after? Malick, this is the best you can do? The caption from a famous New Yorker cartoon springs to mind: “I say it’s spinach, and I say the hell with it!” Not only is it heaven, but it’s a heaven we’ve seen in way too many other films, one of sunshine and gauzy outfits and gentle smiles. What should be one of the film’s most resonant moments, coming as it does after “Life’s” deeply felt and impressionistic portrait of childhood and family life in a small Midwestern town, instead embraces every cheesy cinematic cliché. As the sun glints off the sand and water and brilliant white clouds swell overhead, Penn’s character sees a brother who died years ago - he’s still a tow-headed stripling - and other members of his family. Then, near the end, he arrives at a brightly lit beach filled with people who saunter past, flashing beckoning smiles. ![]() ![]() For much of “Life,” we watch as a solitary figure (Sean Penn), the adult version of the youth at the film’s center, trudges across great distances, passing through various stark landscapes. ![]()
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