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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
  Sometime around 2003, director Darren Aronofsky announced his next project. An ambitious, three hour, hundred million dollar sci-fi drama epic about one man's quest for immortality. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett signed on, elaborate sets were designed, construction was started and locations around the globe were scouted. Then, according to unconfirmed reports, Pitts began demanding script changes, the studio got nervous and the project was scrapped. Aronofsky, however, couldn't drop the idea. He radically scaled back the scope and cost and eventually convinced the studio to bring the project back. Hugh Jackman (X-Men) signed on in Pitt's place and Aronofsky's future wife Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) in place of Blanchett. What resulted is an abstract, cerebral, visually captivating, profoundly philosophical work, which was almost universally panned by critics.
Sometimes critics are just a bunch of idiots.
The Fountain takes place in three different time settings. In the early 16th Century, Tomas (Jackman), a Spanish conquistador is tasked by Queen Isabelle (Weisz) to find the fountain of youth in the "New Spain" jungles of Central America. In 2006, Tommy Creo (Jackman again), a medical researcher is frantically seeking a cure for his terminally ill wife Izzi (Weisz again) before it is too late. Somewhere around 2500 AD, a character I will refer to as "Bald Guy in a Bubble" (Jackman once again) is traveling through space to the Xibalba nebula, accompanied by a character I will refer to as "Izzi-tree", which is portrayed by, a tree.
An awful lot could be said about The Fountain, but I think it is best to leave the interpretation of films like this to the individual viewer. After several discussions about it, I have found very little agreement on what the film is saying as well as what actually "Happens". This is largely because the present day portion involves a novel being written by Izzi, who asks Tommy to wrote the final chapter for her. I have found very little agreement on what parts of the film are "real" and what parts are actually the novel being played out within the rest of the story.
What makes The Fountain so fascinating to me is the bold mixture of philosophies and religions, and even absence of religion, along with the seemingly natural desire for immortality and what consequences that desire may create. Despite all those heady aspirations, when it all boils down, this is a basic love story. Two people who are completely committed to each other and wish to live out their lives together, but probably won't be able to. The depth of the film evolves from how each of them comes to terms with that fact. Much of the disagreement among viewers is in how and when that may actually happen, and possibly if it even happens at all, but that is not a weakness in storytelling. The ability to avoid spelling out every detail is what elevates The Fountain above most other stories. This is a challenging film which is clearly not for everyone. There is a certain similarity to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, my favorite film of 2004, since the story strives to confuse the viewer, not as a gimmick, but in an effort to force the viewer to look at the situation from a different perspective than they might otherwise.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Mark Margolis, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ethan Suplee, Cliff Curtis, Stephen McHattie.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Studio: Warner Brothers Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 96 minutes
Release: 2006
Reviewer: John Rice |
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