The Fountain: A Gorgeous, Moving, Meaningful Film That Will Suck at the Box Office

Rating: Null/10 (25 November 2006)

And that's really too bad.
Why do I think it will do poorly? The same reason as say, "Solaris" did poorly, which I also enjoyed. The common thread between these two movies is that it takes intelligence to enjoy, and I'm afraid the general public is short on this, often equating slapstick humour, a hundred gunfights, explosions, and car chases to be a good time.
Not trying to be holier-than-thou, turning up my nose and acting all superior, here. I enjoy those too, but I also go in knowing I'm paying for some junk food cinema if you will, enormously entertaining, but probably not terribly memorable.
Hey--I actually realized my example is more than fitting--"Solaris" deals intimately with life, death, and regret just as "The Fountain" does. Aside from that, I can't reveal much else of the plot, because it truly needs to be experienced.
Anyway, the movie was jam packed, but I think it's more because "The Fountain" was just released. I think attendance will drop as soon as people hear the news from naysayers, and I think there will be plenty of those.
Some people definitely left early, and you could hear them complaining that they didn't get it (this sorta thing always confuses me, because you know you'll find out soon enough if you just stuck around). The guy beside me told his wife midway, "I'm not getting this," to which she responds, "Me neither." At this point, I didn't understand the movie, either. However, it was still compelling, with so much to absorb and all these little visual and spoken connections, I was quite content absorbing everything. Speaking of visuals, "The Fountain" is indescribably beautiful--I don't doubt that I'll remember some of those images forever (just so you know, a lot of it wasn't even CGI; they were chemical reactions filmed through a microscope, and applied to green screen). In addition to that, the acting from Jackman and Weisz is incredible--great chemistry, sensitivity, and emotion. Score was brilliant also. Since everything was working together so well, I was happy to let the answers reveal themselves.
In the end, there wasn't an answer, but a message, a bit of wisdom that anyone can and should understand, hard as it is. This was lost on some; when the credits rolled, the first thing aforementioned husband said to aforementioned wife was, "That was a total piece of crap," and she concurred.
Sigh--did they get it? Maybe they got it and still hated it, which to me would be hard to fathom, but his reaction was so quick, I'd like to think not.
Then again, someone behind asked "Is that the end?", to which the addressed sagely answered, "That is *a* end." So there may be hope still, despite the fact that it should have been "an." ;) If you're into movies great for discussion and reflection, then "The Fountain" is not only candy for the eyes, it's candy also for the soul.