Sequences that feature live acting are extraordinary, and Malick surely knows how to get the most from his actors, but this film is poorly served by the execution of its ambitious scope--an attempt to situate the strange mystery of human relationships in the vastness of all-time and all-creation. Who among us honestly tries to reconcile our childhood memories with images of nebulas? Dinosaurs? This is what Malick supposes is the key to deep understanding, with overlong (albeit gorgeous) image sequences of space and pre-historic earth.