Stream It Or Skip It: ‘A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting’ on HBO Max, An Undaunted Look at Living with American Antisanemitism

It would be easier to tune out a documentary like A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting on HBO Max. It is never pleasant to remember an act of antisemitic violence that claimed 11 Jewish victims, many of whom were upwards of 70 years old. But, as the Hebrew saying goes, “may their memory be for blessing” – and this documentary attempts to ensure that their deaths were not in vain.

A TREE OF LIFE: THE PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Don’t call it the Tree of Life shooting – the local Jewish community calls the hate crime that stole 11 lives “The Pittsburgh Shooting.” A lone gunman motivated by anti-immigrant sentiment and antisemitism opened fire on a Saturday morning Shabbat service attended by three local congregations that all met at the Tree of Life synagogue, claiming fatalities that included several Holocaust survivors. A Tree of Life recounts that dark day but also looks at what came before (the history of prejudice and white nationalism) and what came after (a community both united and polarized) to provide a fuller picture of what this act of domestic terrorism means in the wider scope of the American story.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The most obvious points of comparison would be other documentaries following a community in the wake of a tragic shooting, such as Newtown or Us Kids. Additionally, A Tree of Life is more focused on the weaponized ideology of the shooter than his actual weapon, but documentaries about the epidemic of American gun violence such as Bowling for Columbine and Under the Gun also come to mind.

Performance Worth Watching: There are no real “performances” in this documentary, but the film’s most interesting interview subject is Wasi Mohamed, who led the fundraiser for Muslims globally to support the Pittsburgh Jewish community in the wake of the shooting. While the two religions are often depicted in conflict with one another, Mohamed points out the many commonalities between Judaism and Islam – particularly when it comes to grief and burial rituals – and why it’s important to focus on what unites people in moments of tragedy.

Memorable Dialogue: “What took so long?” asks Rabbi Jeffrey Myers. “It was inevitable that there was going to be an attack of this nature on a synagogue.” Sadly, the film proves him all too right.

Sex and Skin: Umm … no.

Our Take: It takes a while for A Tree of Life to start cooking as director Trish Adlesic relies almost entirely on a string of talking-head interviews to convey the horror of the shooting, which has the effect of flattening it into something entirely banal. But if you can make it past the film’s recounting of the event itself and into the ripple effects of the tragedy, her camera captures some very interesting scenes. From grappling with how to tackle the root ideology of antisemitism that precipitated the shooting to showing Jewish people participating in an active shooter drill inside another synagogue, the documentary does not comport easily with the simplistic cultural understanding of trauma as a uniting force. It can create divisions and disagreements as well.

Our Call: STREAM IT! While A Tree of Life is not doing anything particularly novel or noteworthy with the documentary form, the continued focus on how a community responds to a hate crime makes this chronicle worth watching. If you can power through some of the dry talking heads, intriguing and unexpected observational bits await.

Marshall Shaffer is a New York-based freelance film journalist. In addition to Decider, his work has also appeared on Slashfilm, Slant, Little White Lies and many other outlets. Some day soon, everyone will realize how right he is about Spring Breakers.