"Death is a disease. There is a cure, and I will find it."

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2007)

After the phenomenal critical success of 'Pi' and 'Requiem for a Dream' (neither of which I have yet had the pleasure of seeing), director Darren Aronofsky became recognised as one of the great emerging talents of the decade. His third feature-length offering, released after a six year hiatus, was 'The Fountain,' a film that has universally divided the opinions of reviewers and audiences. For example, though it was booed by many critics at its opening press screening at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, 'The Fountain' received a ten-minute standing ovation at the public showing the following evening. Not particularly knowing what to expect coming in, I must say that I quite enjoyed it. Though undoubtedly flawed in some regards, 'The Fountain' is ambitious, brilliantly-acted and stunningly beautiful; it's the sort of bold film-making that you love to see a young director try his hands at.
The plot of 'The Fountain' is a blurred combination of drama, science-fiction and fantasy. Three thematically-linked narratives  respectively set in the year 1500, the present day, and somewhere around the year 2500  are interwoven throughout the film, each era featuring similar characters played by Hugh Jackman (fresh from Christopher Nolan's 'The Prestige') and Rachel Weisz ('The Constant Gardener'). In the present day, Jackman plays Dr. Tommy Creo, a devoted husband who is dedicating all his time to uncovering a cure for his wife Izzi's (Weisz) terminal brain tumour. Izzi, in her final months, has been writing a novel, entitled "The Fountain." The novel, which she would like Tom to complete himself, traces the struggles of a 16th century Spanish conquistador, Tomas (Jackman), to discover the famed Tree of Life in the New World, a mission granted to him by his beloved Queen Isabel (Weisz). The third story, set in the far future  or perhaps merely in Tommy Creo's mind  shows astronaut Tom (Jackman again) travelling towards the golden nebula Xibalba in an ecospheric bubble spacecraft, his only companion a dying tree and occasional visits from present-day Izzi, in spirit form.
If all this sounds very confusing to you, then you're not alone. 'The Fountain' really is a film that you have to think about to receive most rewarding movie experience, and multiple viewings are sure to be beneficial in understanding the intricacies of the plot and themes. The "Conquistador" portions were certainly inspired by films such as Herzog's 'Aguirre: The Wrath of God' (and, reportedly, Aronofsky based his script on that of Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time in America,' which also employs a flashback structure between three different eras). Originally set to star Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the main roles, production of the film was ceased in September 2002 after Pitt left due to script disagreements. However, in 2004, production was restarted (with half the original budget), and Jackman and Weisz were coaxed onboard. Ellen Burstyn, the star of 'Requiem for a Dream' was also hired to appear in the film.
With a relatively small budget of about $35 million, Aronofsky chose to limit his spending on visual effects as much as possible. Rather than wasting millions of dollars on lavish CGI, visual effects supervisors Jeremy Dawson and Dan Schrecker discovered macrophotography, which is the extreme close-up photography of chemicals, fluids and bacteria. Peter Parks, who specialises in such photography, explains why such a method was highly suited to the visual effects of the film: "When these images are projected on a big screen, you feel like you're looking at infinity. That's because the same forces at work in the watergravitational effects, settlement, refractive indicesare happening in outer space." The final result is a product that generally looks convincing and timeless. However, especially in the final climactic sequence, the effects do begin to show their low-budget origins.
Though Aronofsky's dialogue is perhaps a bit simplistic at times, the actors deliver it with a real passion. Hugh Jackman is particularly good during the present-day sequences, and we can only watch with despair as the impending loss of his wife begins to tear him apart from the inside. Rachel Weisz is also very good, and the two actors share a strong chemistry, never leaving us in doubt that their two characters are very much in love with each other. 'The Fountain' is an especially visual film, relying on its vibrant colours and stunning cinematography to inspire emotion. The dying golden nebula, Xibalba, towards which Jackman's astronaut travels is simply beautiful to look at, encompassing all that is beautiful and fascinating about the endless universe. Clint Mansell's score also contributes greatly to the awe-inspiring feel of the film, gradually becoming stronger and stronger in tone, before exploding in a flash of sound and energy for the heart-racing climax.
At just over 90 minutes in length, 'The Fountain' is long enough to adequately get its message across, but it ultimately feels as though there could and should be more to it. In my view at least, not nearly enough of the conquistador's journey was shown to us, and, indeed, another filmmaker might even have made that single section into a fascinating feature-length film of its own. 'The Fountain' is often compared to Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' in tone and style. Though the film itself is probably not even science-fiction  as I'm inclined to view the astronaut's journey as being metaphorical more than literal  'The Fountain' is similar to '2001' in at least one way: both films were bold and daring enough to stray from the mainstream, from what audiences are used to; time, I predict, will be very kind to this film.