The Fountain

Review by Loc

Together we will live forever. Well, that’s how long it might take to watch this whole movie. For a flick clocking in at 1 hour and 36 minutes, it sure felt like triple that. And sometimes that can be good, if you’re really enthralled by the story and the visuals and the actors. However, this is not one of those times. Quick hit: for a visual, self-reflective journey, The Fountain is not all that visual and not all self-reflective.

This chronological mash-up takes place over three time periods: Spanish conquistador era, present day, and some point in the future where people traverse space in bubbles. Each era focuses on Hugh Jackman’s various reincarnated entities, one as a conquistador, one as a research scientist, and one as a bald guy. Who travels in a bubble. Yes, the bubble thing is a bit unsettling, seeing as he’s riding through space with a tree. A hairy tree. And no, that’s not an exaggeration.

The running thread throughout the flick is a quest to hold on to love through mortal standards. That means present-day Rachel Weisz might be dying of cancer and Jackman is an obsessive researcher trying to find a cure. That might also mean Jackman is rolling in a bubble, and Weisz is now a hairy tree. Or it could mean Jackman is on a quest to find the fabled Tree of Life and Weisz is the Queen of Spain. However you cut it up, Jackman is on a quest all because of Weisz. Women.

The plot unfolds in a mix of flashbacks and flashforwards. However, this is not a linear story, it’s not a film cut into various pieces and presented out of order. Nope, this is an artsy film, where the stories may be interconnected, but an underlying thread is not necessarily the goal. The theme is there, chasing the myth of immortality, but even that’s not the most obvious plot point. Sure, looking at the big picture, Jackman’s various quests involve extending life beyond limitations, whether its extending the reign of the Queen or the life of his dying wife. And sure, he journeys to far off places, whether it’s the New World inhabited by Mayans or deep space where his mind controls his movements. Yet, this isn’t a film about absolutes, it’s more of a journey through uncertainty.

And that may be the biggest problem, because an artsy film is fun if the journey is engaging. ButThe Fountainprovides a muddled message in the most downtrodden, time-dragging manner possible. If this story is really supposed to span 1000 years, maybe the film was trying to recreate that amount of time for its audience.

Visually, there are some great moments. The bubble in space is actually less spectacular than one would expect, but the cool moments sorta shine out. Like when Jackman and his tree speed through a nebula cluster and the cascading starlight bounces off their enclosure like brilliant sprinkles, it looks very nice. However, when you couple that with Jackman’s meditative floating as he basks in unending starlight, it ends up being a wash.

The moments set in the present are nothing special. It’s set in today’s world with today’s sensibilities, nothing good or bad to speak of. The conquistador moments are actually much better than advertised. With only a couple locations and confined storytelling, these brutal moments could have come off like happy hour at the community college theater production. But, Jackman and company look pretty darn good as invading warriors, and the basking glow of Mayan technology is always a treat to behold.

Overall, The Fountain may be marketed as an edgy sci-fi mindbender, but in reality it’s an overdrawn artsy flick. The visuals can be nice, but it’s nothing extraordinary. And the story is not overly complex or engaging. It’s non-linear, mish-mash style does little to bring out the major thematic thrusts it wanted to, and it leaves the flick flat and long. Out of the 1000 years of undying love, The Fountain only manages to get through 400 years in the path to immortality. Not so special.