Kubrick-esque

Rating: 6/10 (27 February 2019)

Continuing my plan to watch every Hugh Jackman movie in order, I come to The Fountain (2006)
Plot In A Paragraph: As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife.
This movie is very Kubrick-like, which, given I'm not a fan of Kubrick, probably explains why it does not really work for me. The acting by Jackman and Weisz, is fine, and the visuals are stunning, but it just doesn't work for me.
The movie abruptly jumps between its three timelines, but it is easy enough to know what timeline you are in, just by looking at How much hair Hugh Jackman has. But I actually think there is only one timeline, the modern day one, at least it's the way I viewed it.
Too many blinding lights. Too many transitions for their own sake. Abrupt changes of tone. I believe I have not seen the real film. When a $75 million production goes into turnaround and is made for $35 million, elements get eliminated. When a film telling three stories and spanning thousands of years has a running time of 96 minutes, scenes must have been cut out.
Director Darren Aronofsky initially cast Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the central leads of Tom and Izzi with a budget of $75 million dollars. During pre-production, Pitt and Aronofsky were having major creative differences, so Pitt left and Blanchett followed. Warner Bros cut the budget to $35 million dollars, both Weisz and Jackman agreed to work on the film at a reduced rate, to ensure the movie went ahead.
Warner Bros. refused to do a director's commentary for the DVD release, so Darren Aronofsky recorded one in his living room and released it on his website. I think I will need to listen to that, as there could be some great insight in there.
The Fountain grossed $10 million at the domestic box office to be the first Hugh Jackman movie to lose money, since he became a star.