Beautiful and creative

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2007)

After reading several lukewarm to negative reviews of this movie, it was several months before I finally saw The Fountain. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a beautiful, ambitious and legitimately moving piece of work. It takes quite an interesting direction approaching the subject of grief and does so with an amazing lack of pretentiousness. Hugh Jackman does a magnificent job of carrying the tone of this almost impressionistic take on the complexity of dealing with extreme emotions. It really is a gorgeous film which will leave you reflecting long after the credits roll. It is much more human and far less cynical than Aronofsky's other works and I would have to say it currently rates as his best. As many reviews pointed out, the movie has more than its share of flaws, but as with most worthwhile creations, the flaws often become part of the beauty. As with its protagonist, the movie seems to unconsciously sense the ugliness of perfection and in the end, it realizes strength in its shortcomings.
I highly recommend this movie. In a film industry era consumed with assembly line production, it's a rare treat to see such a creative and ambitious piece of film-making outside of the art house world.
9/10.