The Fountain
Sun, Apr 29th, 2007
Last night, we saw Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, a story set across three different historical periods (including one that is best described as “mystical”), forming a complex yet devastating tale of love and devotion. I should say upfront that Aronofsky is my favorite director by a long shot; his previous films, Pi and Requiem for a Dream are among my absolute favorites, even though both have almost a claustrophobic and harrowing feel. Requiem, in particular, drags you kicking and screaming into a nightmarish vision of people who fail to connect with one another on human levels, and long for that connection. The Director’s cut of Requiem actually makes me feel a little ill, but this is, if nothing else, a testament to the power of the filmmaker. So, I was excited to watch The Fountain, mostly because I admire the cojones that Aronofsky brings to his projects — he doesn’t care about stupid, formulaic filmmaking, and the depth of his work shows that.
I don’t want to give away too much about the Fountain, but the basic theme of undying love and dedication that comes through the work is powerful, difficult, sad, and then finally transcendent and cathartic. The acting in the film is superb, and I was especially impressed with Hugh Jackman in the lead role. The film is also compelling for its consistent visual feel, maintained even across the three periods in the film; a deep, amberish yellow underlies just about everything, and provides for evocative visuals. Many of the visual effects are simply stunning, especially the galactic scenes. Deveolped without the use of CGI, the most rich visuals in the film come to life in an organic, vibrant way that seems more fluidic than most CGI can deliver. In this way, it looks like the film was produced for posterity. No one could look back at this film in 20 years and decide that its effects looked “old.” In short, the film is beautiful to behold, and beautiful to contemplate, both.
Topping off the story, visuals, and narrative structure was an excellent soundtrack by Clint Mansell, the Kronos Quartet, and Mogwai. Subtle and serious, heartbreaking and uplifting, the music in itself is as powerful as the film, and the soundtrack can stand on its own as an accomplishment.
This film is not easy viewing, but it is engulfing, encompassing, and powerful if you can convince yourself to be drawn into the intellectual and emotional space of the film. The film demands something of you, the viewer, but all good films do, and should. Those who can step outside the everyday crap that stands in for films and give The Fountain its due, will be amply rewarded, if also tried by the evocative power of the film. I recommend it very highly.
# Comment by Alli on Mon, Apr 30th, 2007 at 6:54 am:
I saw that movie in theaters and unfortunately it tanked. Then again, the masses never seem to like good movies. I didn’t know it was an Aronofsky film, but it makes sense. I was waaay too disturbed by the use of animals, but overall it was absolutely stunning and slap-you-in-the-face emotional.
I still shudder when I think of Requiem. Like all of his movies it had a great soundtrack, but it makes my arms hurt just thinking about it and I can’t look at Jennifer Connelly the same. I thought the point was exaggerated, but if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be nearly as powerful. A must-see, but not too often, for fear it will do permanent damage to your psychosis.
# Comment by Drew on Mon, Apr 30th, 2007 at 7:38 am:
Sounds great, unfortunately I haven’t seen the movie myself but I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Totally off topic - I saw an interview on some talk show with Hugh Jackman and he was talking about a broadway show he was doing at the time where he was portraying a gay character. He said in one scene he was just about to make out with another male lead and someone screamed out from the audience “No Wolverine, don’t do it”. He said he almost lost his composure totally after that and had to try very hard not to break out laughing. Anyway , sorry for the OT but I thought that was really amusing.
# Comment by Matt Hastings on Mon, Apr 30th, 2007 at 10:35 am:
This sounds really intresting. Good thing the better half works at a movie rental store! Thanks for the review Bob.
# Comment by Eric on Thu, May 3rd, 2007 at 5:28 pm:
I’m a big fan, too, though I also found the scenes with the animal experimentation incredibly disconcerting and totally disconnected from the movie. For me it was a statement of how far people go in their denial about death in order to stop it, even sacrificing other beings who would choose not to die, but it was still painful to watch.
Requiem has some painful moments, too. When I first saw that film, I thought I’d never be able to watch it again, as disturbed as I was. I have since watched it one more time, and it was somewhat more bearable. Great film, awesome score. Anyone notice how they used Clint Mansell’s “Summer” from that movie for the “Lost” previews at the end of each episode lately?
# Comment by Eric on Thu, May 3rd, 2007 at 5:29 pm:
That first sentence should read …totally disconnected *me* from the the movie.