The Fountain

The Fountain

Starring:
Hugh Jackman (X-Men, etc)
Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Constant Gardner, Constantine)
Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist, Requiem For A Dream)

Extras Include:
Interview with cast and crew
Visual Effects step-by-step
Scene-to-storyboard Comparison
Inside "The Fountain": Death and Rebirth (the tale of how a dead movie came back to life)
Peter Parks Bonus: Raw Footage of the Macrophotography in The Fountain


This story is not straightforward at all. Director Darren Aronofsky followed up Requiem For A Dream with another trip inside his crazy-hole. If I were to strip The Fountain down to its base components, you would be left with a movie about love and death. You would be left with the story of a man who cannot handle the death of his wife. It appears more convoluted than it really is.

Jackman plays three characters; a conquistador named Tomas, a research oncologist named Tommy and a zen spaceman named Tom. I think they are all the same person, but who the fuck can tell with Aronofsky.

Wesiz plays 2 characters; Isabella I of Castile and Izzi. They are definitely not the same character.

Tomas has been sent to find the Tree of Life by Queen Isabella so that they and Spain may live forever. He goes in search of it and, eventually, finds it only to be struck down by a Mayan priest wielding a flaming sword.

Tommy is trying desperately to find a way to treat Izzi's brain cancer and, in doing so, accidentally discovers a compound that includes bark and sap from a rare tree in Guatemala. The compound reverses aging in his animal test subjects and eventually reverses their cancer. The only problem is that Izzi dies before he can get her the jujumagumbo.

Tom travels in a space bubble and talks to a tree, eating its bark to stay young so that he can eventually reach a golden nebula called Xibalba, which is also, obviously, the Mayan Underworld. He promises the tree that it will be reborn once they reach the nebula and its bark replenished. He is also haunted by visages of Isabella and Izzi.

Somewhere in all that is a lucd story. But if you've seen some of Aronofsky's other flicks (Pi, Requiem) you'll know that a coherent train of thought is hard to come by. Seriously though, say what you want about the guy but Aronofsky has made some of the most critically acclaimed movies of this decade, so he must be doing something right.

Visually, the movie was very attractive. When it was green lit the first time it had a budget of 75 mil and a lot of that was going to go to elaborate sets and snazzy CG, but after Brad Pitt pulled out and Russel Crowe turned down the role, it was killed. A few years later it was re-green lit with Hugh Jackman on board and a budget of only 35 mil. Aronofsky replaced the elaborate sets and CG with some really spectacular macrophotography and introduced recurring imagery, shapes and colors to the story that made it feel like more of an art pic than a Thanksgiving Weekend blockbuster, It really was quite beautiful and is fully-realized on the Blu-ray format. The Montage of the macrophotography in the special feature is pretty amazing too.

Audibly it wasn't anything special. There were no intricate sound effects that put the 5 channel to the test. That's not to say it didn't have a lovely score. It didn't really need any fancy audio tricks because, more than anything, it was a character piece and didn't rely on special effects or a gut wrenching audio track.

All in all, I liked this movie, it was sad and confusing and, while not for everyone, it is worth a watch for the visuals and the fact that you may get lucky and be able to piece the story together. Also, Hugh Jackman is pretty awesome in it.

Audio: 5
Video: 7
Story: 5 (but only because I'm a little confused)

I will give it a 2.5 out of 5. It's a C Student. Excels in areas, disappoints in others.

Next up: Sin City