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By
WAYNE KLEIN
An epic film (at a non-epic
length of 96 minutes), Darren Aronofsky's
ambitious science fiction parable "The Fountain"
demonstrates that the director wants to continue
to make dense, emotionally complex films that
require audience involvement. Although it isn't
flawless, "The Fountain" is an enjoyable film that
moves along at its own leisurely pace. Although
"The Fountain" was critically attacked when it was
released (it was booed at Cannes), it's an
ambitious worthwhile film for those who have the
patience and aren't expecting a explosion filled
Summer blockbuster kind of movie. Aronosfky serves
a different slice of "pi" here in trying to tackle
the subject of mortality, reincarnation and the
afterlife. It's a fascinating film even when it
fails to reach beyond the rudimentary topic at
hand.
The different strands of this interlaced triptych
have different success rates with the story
involving the Conquistador's search for the Tree
of Life that a Franciscan Monk (Mark Margolis)
friendly to the Spanish throne may be able to
find. If the Conquistador (Hugh Jackman) can find
it, Queen Isabella (Rachel Weisz)may survive the
expanding inquisition. The present day story with
Jackman as Dr. Tom Creo struggling to find the
cure to his wife's cancer (she's writing a book
called The Fountain which details the first part
of the story about the Conquistador and his
search) all the while running into unintentional
roadblocks from his boss (Ellen Burstyn in an
Oscar nominated performance) is along with the
first, most successfully. The last segment set in
the 26th Century while visually dazzling is the
most cryptic much as Kubrick's ending for "2001: A
Space Odyssey" was cryptic in tackling the concept
of mortality and "rebirth."
While Arononfsky's ambitious story may leap out of
his grasp, there's much to admire in this visually
stunning film. It won't be for everyone but like
Kubrick's "2001" it will speak to a specific
audience and the skill with which it is made will
insure that its reputation (both for good and bad)
will grow with time. In fact Aronofsky's film
probably has more in common with the two versions
of "Solaris" more than Kubrick's film with their
consideration of life, death and how they impact
those we love.
Linking all six characters that Jackman and Weisz
play is an interesting idea that might confuse
those expecting the film to be literal. On the
other hand, one could rationalize why they are in
all three stories since it touches the attempt by
Jackman's character in all three stories to try
and defeat death allowing him to stay with the
women he loves. Perhaps in some way they are the
same "characters" constantly struggling to defeat
death to stay together. You decide. Aronofsky
takes an almost literary approach to the material
eschewing the action-adventure approach of most
film science fiction.
For those interested in the DVD extras we get a
six part featurette that can be viewed all at once
that covers everything from the genesis of the
project (when it was entitled "The Last Man") and
the discussions that Aronofsky had with a Ari
Handel (who co-wrote the story). They had many
discussions about life, death and fate all of
which were fed into this compelling film. It's
amazing what Aronofsky gets away with given the
low budget of the film. At one point the film went
into turnaround when Brad Pitt and Cate Blachett
pulled out of the film. Originally budgeted at $75
million, the production saw its budget sliced in
half after Pitt left the production (reportedly
due to creative differences with Aronofsky).
Aronofsky lost his sets (they were auctioned off
when Village Roadshows pulled out of the
production as well)
The fascinating, beautiful visual effects were
achieved using micro-photography of chemical
reactions on Petri dishes vs. with CGI and looks
just as good (if not better) than some of the
visual effects for similar films that have used
CGI to portray a star about to go nova. We also
get the original theatrical trailer. While that's
nice, a good commentary track would have been a
bit more revealing particularly during some of the
more symbolic and over-the-top sequences of the
film.
Is "The Fountain" for everyone? No. Some will
consider the film to be a pretentious hodge-podge
of romantic/spiritual sci-fi and homage to
Trakovsky's "Solaris." "The Fountain" has more in
common with Tarkvosky's "Solaris" than "2001"
(although Tarkovsky's film is about a man trying
to deaden himself against the living memory of the
woman he loved). In that regard, "The Fountain" is
a fine companion piece to both films (if a bit
more esoteric and cryptic). I personally like "The
Fountain" but it will take some patience to stay
with the overlapping often intersecting storylines
and absorb the ending of the film. "The Fountain"
is thoughtful, emotional science fiction something
of a rarity in today's bigger, louder, faster
science fiction films. Solaris, Solaris --
Criterion Collection, 2001 -- A Space Odyssey |
