I cannot say that this comes as a complete surprise or anything of the ‘be sure you are sitting down’ variety, but Terrence Malick‘s latest film, Tree of Life, which has been in the editing phase for over a year now, is not going to hit its targeted release date of December 25th.

According to The Playlist, the films production company has not seen anything resembling the ‘final cut’ of the film and confirms that it is definitely “not coming out in 2009.” The hope is that this film manages to play the 2010 Cannes film festival, but given the time that Malick tends spend in the editing phase of his films, there is no guarantee that this will happen either. For the two principle ‘name’ actors in the film, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, motion pictures with big delays (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and The Weight of Water respectively) is not out of the ordinary.

Tree of Life is a life-spanning period piece which traces the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does, with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way, of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth.