← Back to Reviews
in
The Fountain - 2006, Darren Aronofsky
Stars Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz
The Fountain took me off guard. I had seen trailers and posters for the film, and I was expecting a science fiction epic of sorts. I should have known better, seeing as Darren Aronofsky’s name is attached. His independent film Pi (1998) studied insanity and the maddening search for patterns in life. It was shot in high contrast black-and-white. It was troubling, disorienting and extremely powerful. Two years later came the release of his cult classic, Requiem for a Dream. It was an experimental but strikingly focused adaptation of the novel by Hubert Selby Jr.; a film about the human spirit’s deterioration as a result of addiction and impossible delusions. It was even better than Pi, and is arguably one of the greatest filmmaking feats of the decade.
Aronofsky’s third film is my favorite, and possibly his best. It has received harsh response from critics, and limited viewing has reduced it to a box office flop. It’s a visual poem full of passion and originality, and it challenges us to approach the topics of love and death without mindless comic relief. The film takes place over the course of three interlocking timelines that all link to the central theme of timeless love, and man’s doomed struggle to defeat death.
Tom (Hugh Jackman) is a medical researcher who is wearing himself thin in a frantic struggle to find a cure for death. He’s doing this because his wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz) is rapidly dying. Izzi is halfway through writing a novel – Tom’s visions of the novel serve as the first story in the film. The third story takes place in the distant future, where Tom seeks eternity with his love. This segment of the film is the most obscure and the most challenging… Aronofsky offers no easy explanations, and much of the story is up to the audience to interpret. Shamefully, people don’t seem to want to think when they take a trip to the cinema anymore, so very few filmgoers took the challenge.
This isn’t a pessimistic film. It’s dark, and at times it is downright heartbreaking. What sets it apart from existential or angst-ridden film stories is the fact that Aronofsky looks for hope in death. Although fear in death is a seemingly inevitable problem, this film attempts at a little bit of reassurance in the most selfless way imaginable. Tom isn’t horrified at the prospect of his own life ending. He can’t handle the idea of living without the woman he loves beside him.
Needless to say, this is a very heavy and unsettling picture. Aronofsky has a knack for hunting down universal subject matter that can make us ponder days after leaving the cinema. It’s his technical flair and visual mastery that makes these stories so gripping and memorable. With The Fountain, he makes a wise decision and continues his collaboration with cinematographer Matthew Libatique. This is a masterfully shot film. Libatique brings us a subtle visual roadmap that moves progressively with the central theme of death. The lighting is downright gorgeous, and the futuristic element of the movie is completely jaw-dropping in its splendor.
The Fountain’s musical composer (Clint Mansell) is the same man behind Requiem for a Dream and Pi also. Darren Aronofsky and Clint Mansell… so far, their combined force has proved to be on par with Steven Spielberg and John Williams. Mansell’s score for The Fountain is his finest; sorrowful but strangely tranquil.
To bring all of these beautiful touches into something truly great are Hugh Jackman and Rach Weisz. I don't feel strongly one way or the other about either of the lead actors, but they are both at their strongest here. Jackman plays the pivotal character, and he portrays him with enough humanity and honesty to pull any emotion imaginable from the audience. Rachel Weisz's performance is a very restrained, subtle one, and it's all the better for it. Her depiction of a brave woman staring death in the face is original and touching, and contributes to Hugh Jackman's power.
To describe the greatness of this picture is almost impossible. All I can say is that it emotionally affected me more than any film I’ve ever seen. Watching it in the theater was a rare gift that I won’t be able to experience very often. I knew I was watching something special, an overlooked masterpiece that will gain appreciation as time passes. This is the best film of 2006, and probably my all-time favorite. I urge everyone to see it.
MY RATING: 5/5
Stars Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz
The Fountain took me off guard. I had seen trailers and posters for the film, and I was expecting a science fiction epic of sorts. I should have known better, seeing as Darren Aronofsky’s name is attached. His independent film Pi (1998) studied insanity and the maddening search for patterns in life. It was shot in high contrast black-and-white. It was troubling, disorienting and extremely powerful. Two years later came the release of his cult classic, Requiem for a Dream. It was an experimental but strikingly focused adaptation of the novel by Hubert Selby Jr.; a film about the human spirit’s deterioration as a result of addiction and impossible delusions. It was even better than Pi, and is arguably one of the greatest filmmaking feats of the decade.
Aronofsky’s third film is my favorite, and possibly his best. It has received harsh response from critics, and limited viewing has reduced it to a box office flop. It’s a visual poem full of passion and originality, and it challenges us to approach the topics of love and death without mindless comic relief. The film takes place over the course of three interlocking timelines that all link to the central theme of timeless love, and man’s doomed struggle to defeat death.
Tom (Hugh Jackman) is a medical researcher who is wearing himself thin in a frantic struggle to find a cure for death. He’s doing this because his wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz) is rapidly dying. Izzi is halfway through writing a novel – Tom’s visions of the novel serve as the first story in the film. The third story takes place in the distant future, where Tom seeks eternity with his love. This segment of the film is the most obscure and the most challenging… Aronofsky offers no easy explanations, and much of the story is up to the audience to interpret. Shamefully, people don’t seem to want to think when they take a trip to the cinema anymore, so very few filmgoers took the challenge.
This isn’t a pessimistic film. It’s dark, and at times it is downright heartbreaking. What sets it apart from existential or angst-ridden film stories is the fact that Aronofsky looks for hope in death. Although fear in death is a seemingly inevitable problem, this film attempts at a little bit of reassurance in the most selfless way imaginable. Tom isn’t horrified at the prospect of his own life ending. He can’t handle the idea of living without the woman he loves beside him.
Needless to say, this is a very heavy and unsettling picture. Aronofsky has a knack for hunting down universal subject matter that can make us ponder days after leaving the cinema. It’s his technical flair and visual mastery that makes these stories so gripping and memorable. With The Fountain, he makes a wise decision and continues his collaboration with cinematographer Matthew Libatique. This is a masterfully shot film. Libatique brings us a subtle visual roadmap that moves progressively with the central theme of death. The lighting is downright gorgeous, and the futuristic element of the movie is completely jaw-dropping in its splendor.
The Fountain’s musical composer (Clint Mansell) is the same man behind Requiem for a Dream and Pi also. Darren Aronofsky and Clint Mansell… so far, their combined force has proved to be on par with Steven Spielberg and John Williams. Mansell’s score for The Fountain is his finest; sorrowful but strangely tranquil.
To bring all of these beautiful touches into something truly great are Hugh Jackman and Rach Weisz. I don't feel strongly one way or the other about either of the lead actors, but they are both at their strongest here. Jackman plays the pivotal character, and he portrays him with enough humanity and honesty to pull any emotion imaginable from the audience. Rachel Weisz's performance is a very restrained, subtle one, and it's all the better for it. Her depiction of a brave woman staring death in the face is original and touching, and contributes to Hugh Jackman's power.
To describe the greatness of this picture is almost impossible. All I can say is that it emotionally affected me more than any film I’ve ever seen. Watching it in the theater was a rare gift that I won’t be able to experience very often. I knew I was watching something special, an overlooked masterpiece that will gain appreciation as time passes. This is the best film of 2006, and probably my all-time favorite. I urge everyone to see it.
MY RATING: 5/5