Living with Grace

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2006)

The opening sequences of "The Fountain" are disorienting, even having a clue about the movie. In one scene Hugh Jackman is conquistador Tomas battling fierce warriors before a Mayan temple in the service of his Queen Isabel (Rachel Weisz). In the next, Jackman is Tom Creo traveling in a spherical globe to a distant nebula in 2500 A.D. with what looks like the remains of a tree. My clarity comes from having seen the entire movie. Director and Screenwriter Darren Aronofsky is bold and daring in "The Fountain". Though flawed, Arononfsky's "The Fountain" needs to be acknowledged for its ambition and nobility. "The Fountain" is worthy of view and thought as perhaps one of the year's best. Granted the movie is not for everyone. On the surface "The Fountain" is about the search for eternal life. As poignantly pleaded by Tommy (Jackman) in the present day, he wishes to "stop dying (death)". "The Fountain" is a reference to the Fountain of Youth. From Genesis, when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden after tasting from the Tree of Knowledge, the Tree of Life was forfeited and lost forever. Or perhaps it was not.
I believe that Aronofsky is really interested in coming to terms with one's mortality and making peace with that. In the present story setting Izzy Creo (Weisz) says to Tommy (Jackman) that "In death there is creation." Hers is the romantic conceit. With powerful performances from Jackman and Weisz, "The Fountain" is about eternal love, without attachment and acceptance of fate. What resonates for me is that in the end "The Fountain" ultimately is about one's life being whole and complete. In Aronfsky's and Ari Handel's story "The Fountain" is a story within the movie, set in New Spain of 1500 A.D. written by Izzy. The dying Izzy tells her husband Tommy, "Finish it." He replies, "I don't know how it ends." Izzy has made her peace, but Tommy can't let go. Aronofsky touchingly asks: How does life end? "The Fountain" has one of the most bizarre narratives of any movie, at times even vexing. The story spans 1000 years with three interconnected story lines. One is a fable of Tomas's search for the mythical Tree of Life in the New World. In the present day, Tommy (Jackman) is a brilliant and impetuous medical researcher consumed with finding a cure for his dying wife Izzy (Weisz), who suffers from a malignant brain tumor. The cure may lie in a botanical sample from Central America. In the distant future Tom (also Jackman) is on solo trek to the nebula from a Mayan legend on a mission to return the Tree of Life. Aronofsky darts back and forth between all stories at will, culminating in the compelling catharsis. Here I thought he went a little nonlinear and tangential. However, the final resolution is moving and poignant.
Hugh Jackman is absolutely amazing. Though "The Fountain" mandates concentration and effort upon viewing, Jackman's performance is effortless. I don't think anyone else could have pulled off this role. The strikingly handsome and physical Jackman has the charisma to realize the brave conquistador Captain Tomas. As researcher Tommy he is the compassionate and driven husband caring for his ailing wife Izzy. In the future as Tom, a head shaved Jackman embodies a lonely and haunted man full of regret as he looks back upon his life. Jackman is that rare combination of powerful presence and gentle compassion. Rachel Weisz is inspiring as Tommy's eternal love over several lifetimes. Weisz commands a quiet strength and a natural ease. She gives Izzy a tangible nobility. She and Jackman have beautiful chemistry. Their touching love story endures the provocative narrative shifts throughout.
"The Fountain" promises a story about eternal life, and instead delivers a moving and touching story about our mortality. Perhaps, "The Fountain" is about living with grace. Darren Aronofsky does not cleanly resolve everything. I guess much like life, we have to kind of work it out for ourselves. Acknowledge Aronofsky and story writer Handel for making a movie dominated by grand ideas. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz give inspiring and resonating performances in this eternal love story. "The Fountain" is not the easiest movie to watch, nor is it the most black and white. However, it will make you look upon life. And that is a noble thing.