She oughter do something about the Sing. She oughter do something about One-Eyed Jack's. But if she took one of them on, the other would have the valley to itself; and she wasn't certain she had the strength to fight them both, what with keeping one eye on I-79 every minute of the day.

For all the nonlinear narrative that has stymied reviews of The Tree of Life , you can't really say that one goes into it unprepared for oddity. When a film gets booed at Cannes, and then goes on to win the Palme d'Or, you know something is up.

She comes into my kitchen for a slice / of black bread, buttered. I've grown so tired, / she says, of cake.