“Finish it.” —Izzi
Today’s quick review: The Fountain. Tommy Creo (Hugh Jackman), a cancer researcher, throws himself into his research in the hope of finding a cure for his dying wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz). As Tommy has a breakthrough in a sample from a South American tree, his wife slips farther into her illness. Elsewhere, a Spanish conquistador seeks out the Tree of Life to save his queen and country, and an immortal man escorts an ancient tree on a celestial journey.
The Fountain is a surreal fantasy romance from writer and director Darren Aronofsky. The Fountain deals with themes of death, loss, enlightenment, and rebirth through three intertwining stories. The core story takes place in the present and follows Tommy as he tries to save his wife. The other stories tie into it indirectly, echoing its themes and filling in the gaps in Tommy’s own spiritual journey.
The Fountain is a beautiful film. Its visuals are ornately detailed, a tapestry of color and symbolism. Its soundtrack, scored by Clint Mansell, achieves the delicate feat of setting a wistful tone for the film while imbuing it with a sense of urgency. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz share an excellent chemistry together, and their performances are enough to carry the film without much in the way of a supporting cast.
However, The Fountain is far from a straightforward watch. Its story is carefully constructed along emotional and symbolic lines, but it suffers when viewed as a logical sequence of events. The film retains just enough cohesion for the viewer to follow along, but several key connections are left open to interpretation. The Fountain presents a tantalizing puzzle with no single solution; whether that is a flaw or a feature depends on the viewer.
As such, The Fountain is a polarizing movie. Give it a shot if you’re interested in the abstract, the experimental, and the aesthetically pleasing. For the right viewer, it can be a work of art; for the wrong one, it is an incomplete tangle of fanciful ideas. For a movie with a similar scope and a more concrete plot, check out Cloud Atlas. For a dark, melancholy fantasy with similar artistry, check out Pan’s Labyrinth.
7.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 to 8.0 for esoteric beauty.