The Fountain

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2007)

When watching The Fountain one realises that there really is nothing like it. The closest relative to Darren Aronofsky's latest film would probably be 2001: A Space Odyssey. But whereas 2001 deals with issues like technology, evolution, the universe, and pretty much everything, The Fountain feels more down to earth because it deals with more personal, though no less expansive, issues: death, and love. It's because it deals with these topics on an individual level that The Fountain is a more effective film at provoking emotions and truly makes you think about the nature of love and life, whereas 2001 distances itself because of it's scale; it tries too hard to be an all-encompassing epic. The Fountain is not as epic as it first appears, but is a very intense and personal film.
The film's cast is small, centring on the two leads in three time periods. A 15th century conquistador (Jackman) is on a mission for the Queen of Spain (Weisz) in the Mayan jungle, searching for the Tree of Life, as presented in a book that Izzi (still Weisz) is writing in the present day for her husband, Tommy (Jackman). Tommy is desperately trying to save Izzi from the cancer that is slowly killing her, just as in the future, Tom (Jackman again) is trying to save the Tree of Life by regenerating it in the heart of a dying star.
The film will raise debates as to its true meaning for a long while to come, each section being dissected as theories are put across  what is real? Are they the same people?  but to concern yourself too much with that during the film will make you miss the beauty of what you are watching. The three time periods are referenced nicely in the film's visual flair  the candles in the Queen's throne room looking like the stars outside the future Tom's bubble ship  and the film's cinematography is nothing short of outstanding. Using micro-photography of chemical reactions in Petri dishes as inspiration for the special effects produces some fantastic imagery, and combining this with another of Clint Mansell's beautiful scores allows the viewer to literally float through the film, allowing it to absorb into us.
Providing the performance of his career, Hugh Jackman is an unexpected though absolutely perfect choice to portray the obsession that all three Tom's go through, each on their mission to cheat death. Tearing through the first four stages of grief  denial, anger, bargaining, depression  whilst Izzi has already reached acceptance could potentially make Tom a character to dislike rather than support, but Jackman's performance instead makes us truly feel for him, trying obsessively to cheat death and find a way to keep Izzi alive. Rachel Weisz also proves a fine choice to bring out the seemingly one-dimensional character of Izzi/Isabel and gives her a life in death that centres the film. Together they gel so well, making the missions of all three Tom's both believable and necessary.
The Fountain does not provide us with all the answers  if indeed there are any answers to satisfy on the subjects of love and death  and that is absolutely the point; each viewer will get what they want out of it, whether they see the simple love story at its centre, or the larger picture that surrounds it. The Fountain is an experience, one that needs to be explored rather than explained, and in sheer power of emotion is easily one of the finest experiences that can be seen on the big screen  and it needs to be seen on the big screen, if only because it allows the viewer to absorb it fully, and be engrossed in the atmosphere. It's one of the most beautiful and thought provoking films one is likely to find this year.
Rated: 9/10
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