The Fountain: Review By timbruderek

Darren Aronofsky's previous films "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" were intense psychological journeys, deeply penetrating and analyzing the inner workings of tortured minds. His latest film, "The Fountain," continues in that same vain, but this journey is one that also reaches farther into another place: the heart.

"The Fountain" stars Hugh Jackman as Tom Creo and Rachel Weisz as his wife Izzi, and tells the story of a couple set in three different time periods. Tomas is a Spanish conquistador in the 16th century, determined to find the Fountain of Youth and please his beloved queen Isabella. In present day, Tommy works as a scientist who is trying to beat the clock to find a cure for his wife Izzi's cancer. Set in the 26th century, Tom is a futuristic astronaut traveling through space inside a nebula, waiting for the moment when the stars surrounding it will explode to grant he and his dead wife eternal life.

Aronofsky relies on his keen directorial eye, a revolutionary science fiction/fantasy story and the work of the two brilliant lead actors to tell his story, illustrated stunningly by timeless special effects. Though the three stories coincide and eventually fit together by the end, the filmmaker provides you with pieces to a spiritual puzzle that the viewers are trying to put together simultaneously with Tom. Jackman's portrayal of the desperate Tom is dazzling, and his heartbreaking struggle through his deepest love and total desperation are the supreme focus of this glorious film.

"The Fountain" is by far the director's most ambitious work to date, and arguably his greatest. He picks apart the human mind and redefines romance, while intertwining several themes, including Mayan mysticism, immortality, and metempsychosis, as well as prominently displaying and examining his deepest spiritual beliefs. The major theme of unconditional and hopeless love is interwoven with the idea of finding the "Fountain of Youth," in whatever form it may be and at whatever cost.

While Rachel Weisz is always a welcome breath of fresh air in any role she takes on, it is Hugh Jackman who really digs deep and searches his soul to pull out the raw emotion that surrounds the character of Tom. "The Fountain" allows the opportunity to showcase the true talent of these brilliant actors, and the creativity and genius of a director who puts every bit of himself into his films, and attempts to put forth humanistic and mental ideals that his audiences may or may not accept.

With "The Fountain," Aronofsky will certainly be acknowledged as one of history's greatest and most ambitious directors, and this film will leave you questioning your very ideals and core beliefs. If you don't walk out of this movie stunned, then you haven't watched it at full attention.