Beautifully moving film on so many levels

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2007)

Darren Aronofsky has already demonstrated himself to be a master of emotion with his harrowing and heartbreaking masterpiece Requiem for a Dream, and the intensely unforgettable Pi. His talent lies in his rare ability to place his hands upon what genuinely drives people - their fears, passions, pains and obsessions  and to manipulate this on screen in a way that so few filmmakers are able to do. Now The Fountain further cements his status as an artist of the soul.
Let's stop with the semantics for a moment and simply say that this film is a work of total beauty; from the wonderfully elegant and understated performance of Rachel Weisz as Izzy, to the stunning visual imagery of the film's moving-painting style backdrop. The Fountain is a real viewing experience that I hope many of you will enjoy as much as I did. Hugh Jackman (my favourite over Pitt any day!) gives a sterling performance as the tortured Tomas/Tommy/Dr. Tom Creo; whose desperation propels the narrative throughout its many levels of love, loss and existential spirituality.
Though mostly taking place in the present day, the narrative visits three separate time frames spanning 1000 years. Each story is bound together by the film's central couple, and delicately interlaced to produce a beautiful and ambiguous reflection on the complexity of emotion and the human endeavour. Despite the occasionally uncertain chronology and moments of absolute sadness; The Fountain is a bittersweet and strangely reassuring tale (in a tear-your-heart-out-and-lock-it-in-a-box sort of way) that really left an emotional imprint upon me. I urge anyone who has a penchant for highly personal and often painful cinema, and who is unfamiliar with Aronosfsky to get yourself acquainted immediately with his inimitable style and very individual films.