Fountain of Dreck...

Rating: 2/10 (25 November 2006)

I consider to myself to be an intelligent person and I consider myself to be a fan of Darren Aronofsky but the Fountain is absurd, pretentious, boring and uninvolving. Lacking the visual impact of his earlier films it tells the story of two people throughout the ages played confidently by weisz and Jackman. What it comes down to without giving anything away is the film is about creation through death. Which is understandably a powerful and intriguing idea but never has it been done so creatively and uninvolving. The characters are hardly developed and though they are not the main focus they should be. Because without an emotional attachment in this type of film it just doesn't work. The film is confusing at best but not because of its intelligence or coherence but because it tries to be different when it probably would have been more effective played straight. What seems to be leading up to a powerful plot revelation is something you already attained within the first third. There is a lot of symbolism and subtext but the film is very repetitive within its limited themes. Aronofsky has some important things to say but doesn't know how to say them. The film's pacing makes it seem hours when it's just 96 minutes. The performances are good but the characters are poorly written and underdeveloped and the cinematography is acceptable but cheap looking. There are no other words but to describe this movie except to say it's a waste of time. maybe my expectations were to high after his previous two victories but this films wreaks of studio meddling, whats left has nothing to say and should only be seen by extreme art-house fans who like something just because its different and no one else likes it and by insomniacs looking to finally get some sleep.