An absorbing tale, Aronofsky style

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2006)

To know Darren Aronofsky's films is to love Darren Aronofsky's films. Unlike a Stephen Spielberg whose films are visually stunning without offering much in way of surprises or M. Night Shyamalan's attempts at cinema that have you sitting in your plush uncomfortable theatre seat trying to get one step ahead of the projection in an attempt to figure out the ending 90 minutes before the great reveal, Aronofsky is a talent that deserves to be savored both visually and in a conclusion that is usually unforeseen.
His two previous efforts, Requiem for a Dream and Pi are two of the more complex yet wonderfully absorbing films of the past 10 years. Each film dealt with addiction  one with drugs, the other with mathematics  and the consequences of these obsessions.
Aronofsky's new film, The Fountain also deals with obsession  the obsession for life and the journey of one man's path through time in an effort to resurrect his everlasting love. In the film, Aronofsky uses his celluloid brush to paint a picture of a man obsessed with life while dealing with the eventual death of his wife. Hugh Jackman - who very convincingly sheds his Wolverine persona - plays Thomas and Tommy and Tom, three individuals spanning over a thousand years each on the same quest. The quest to find the source of everlasting life. What is interesting is that in each story, his quest is not to find the answer to immortality for his own gain, but in each case, he is attempting to find the cure for death to save the life of the object of his affection which comes in the form of a queen, a wife and a tree (two of the three are played by Rachel Weisz, I will let you guess which).
The stories jump through time going from past to present to future which is usually annoying, but Aronofsky spends enough time and energy with each jump to give us time to relate to the characters and their surroundings while making an emotional attachment between the characters and the audience. That is if you buy into the film wholeheartedly.
When The Fountain first premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it was met with general hissing and booing from a portion of the audience. Then, in September of 2006, it was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival where again the audiences were mixed in their overall approval rating of the film. Having seen the film now twice, I scratch my head at the consensus response.
Maybe the paying audiences were there to see the two leads, (Jackman/Weisz) who play the central characters in the film, without an appreciation (or patience) for the styling's of Aronofsky whose mind can best be described as Tim Burton on acid. Or maybe they were drawn in after watching the film's trailer which has elements of science fiction and adventure and thought they were going to be given an absorbing tale that will include aliens and lightsabers.
Whatever the reason, few will argue that Aronofsky is an acquired taste that fails to transcend into the mainstream. For most, The Fountain will seem like it is going at a snails pace without any clear heading and can best be described like watching a Terrance Malik/Stanley Kubrick collaboration.
But for those who like to think outside the box and have the adventurous spirit that can be whisked through time and space, this film will be right up your 'Best of" lists. It is a film that is intelligent, stimulating, demanding while offering some stunning scenes that were done without the aide of CGI. In fact, Aronofsky chose to do the special effects for the film by using micro-photography of chemical reactions on tiny petri dishes. But special effects are not what this film is about. It is about love, life and being able to let go. Aronofsky style.
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