The Fountain

Name: The Fountain
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Romance
Released: November 22, 2006
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 51
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas

2006

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Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 564 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 564 Ratings

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The Fountain

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: November 22, 2006 | R

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas

Summary: The Fountain is an odyssey about one man's eternal struggle to save the woman he loves. (Warner Bros.)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Drama, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 96 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Premiere Glenn Kenny

As it happens, each one of these tales is also a love story, and The Fountain is Aronofsky’s profession of faith concerning love’s place in the idea of eternity. It’s a movie that’s as deeply felt as it is imagined. Read full review

Empire Helen O'Hara

At heart, this is a simple Zen fable about love and death. In execution, it’s a complex and gorgeous mini-epic with sterling performances from its two stars. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

It's possible to admire or respect a movie without enjoying it too much, and that's partly the reaction I had to Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. It's an incredibly ambitious film of sometimes thrilling visual achievement, but it didn't connect fully to my mind and nerves. Read full review

Anthony Lane

The movie may have significant truths to impart, although I have my doubts, but it feels too inexperienced, too unworldly, to have earned the right to them. Read full review

Rene Rodriguez

The Fountain is probably too muddled and half-baked to even attain cult status -- but you can still see what writer-director Darren Aronofsky was striving for, and even if his reach exceeded his grasp, his intentions were both admirable and worthy of respect. Read full review

Ray Bennett

Jackman does everything required of him, and his range is quite admirable, while Weisz, who has nothing to prove, does looking gorgeous very nicely. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Aronofsky's reach far exceeds his grasp with this film, and the muddle he concocts makes one wonder if there was ever a solid foundation for The Fountain. Hope may spring eternal, but this fountain is a dry hole. Read full review

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User Reviews

Enan

Aug 23, 2010

Living forever would be hell. Eternity claws at the heart of Aronofsky's temporally transcendent hero, Thomas. Hugh Jackman plays Thomas, but the character embodies director/writer Aronofsky's complex and insightful interpretation of what immortality means. Beyond humanity conquering time,Living forever would be hell. Eternity claws at the heart of Aronofsky's temporally transcendent hero, Thomas. Hugh Jackman plays Thomas, but the character embodies director/writer Aronofsky's complex and insightful interpretation of what immortality means. Beyond humanity conquering time, this film tackles how ideas, and even feelings, can be inherently timeless. The Fountain courageously examines what keeps us here and why we eventually need to go.

Aronofsky's ability as a director has been hailed with both Pi and Requiem for a Dream. The Fountain is unlike anything he has done before. He provokes audiences intellectually, spiritually and viscerally, but this time, with extra concern for plot and character dynamics. Like Fellini, putting his wife in his films compels a richer and more passionate creation. Weisz proves more enchanting in this sci-fi spirit quest than any other film to date. Instead of isolation and dependence, Aronofsky focuses on interconnectivity. A responsibility to his wife, new born, and devoted fans gives birth to a film that aspires to be something timeless itself. Aronofsky, more than anything, demonstrates how much he expects of himself.

Moving within the millennia spanning the films narrative are the souls of Thomas and Izzi. They are tied to each other and the tree of life. Uniquely positioned as the tie that binds them to the tree is love. In every period, Thomas scrambles to save Izzi in some way. Thomas exasperatingly challenges the life threatening circumstances Izzi faces. Battling Mayan warlords, cancerous tumors or traveling to Xibalba(The Place of Fear) are dwarfed by the life purpose Izzi instills in him. The limitations of love and devotion are reluctantly acknowledged, as Thomas becomes a slave to hope and memory.

The very essence of existence comes into play as fantasy is given as much legitimacy in the film as reality. The scenes from the Mayan period are melded together with the fiction Izzi is writing in present day. The line between truth and fiction disintegrates as the three stories continually intertwine. The motives of the characters are similar in each, but it takes the fantasy to provoke their destinies. Thomas's ultimate fate and acceptance of reality can only happen in surreal settings where anything is possible.

The Fountain delves into the ineffable headfirst. Infinite possibility lies at the heart of life and death. One answer is as valid or invalid as the next without a map key. The closest we come to understanding it all is when determining what it isn't. Aronofsky posits the question as the answer stylishly, uniquely and profoundly.… Expand

10 of 12 users found this helpful102

SeanD.

May 18, 2007

Every time I watch an Aranofsky movie, it is a life-changing experience. There's something about his style of writing and filming that is extremely memorable. Even with it's focus on death, I left this movie extremely uplifted. I can't get it's visuals out of my mind & Every time I watch an Aranofsky movie, it is a life-changing experience. There's something about his style of writing and filming that is extremely memorable. Even with it's focus on death, I left this movie extremely uplifted. I can't get it's visuals out of my mind & can't wait to watch it again. Not many movies these days challenge thought and ideas. I can't believe the critics pounded this one. A memorable, beautiful movie, but I guess it's not for everyone.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

HorenS.

Nov 21, 2006

I was lucky enough today to be able to catch The Fountain at the film festival downtown. To start off, I have always been a huge Aronofsky fan, I introduced my friends to Pi and Requiem, and they are two of my favourite movies. From The Fountain's inception in the early 2000's, I I was lucky enough today to be able to catch The Fountain at the film festival downtown. To start off, I have always been a huge Aronofsky fan, I introduced my friends to Pi and Requiem, and they are two of my favourite movies. From The Fountain's inception in the early 2000's, I have followed all of its foibles and developmental issues. The script was originally approved with Pitt and Blanchett to star in the leading roles. Pitt left to film Troy and the project was thrown on the back burner. In 2004 the film re-emerged with a budget half of the original and was cast with Jackman and Weisz. As is expected when one follows things for such a long time, excitement builds and there is always the wish for what you are about to experience to be spectacular. This is one of those instances where one is awestruck and that excitement has not been crushed by the feeling of disappointment. Without a doubt, The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky is one of the best films I have seen this year, if not one of the best films of the decade. Future viewings and time will tell if the latter holds true. I'm not even sure where to begin, essentially the plot is set in three different time periods, with Jackman playing a conquistador, a modern scientist/doctor, and a intergalactic voyager all while trying to find a way for Weisz to live as she is terminally ill. The visuals in The Fountain are dazzling. The cinematography is some of the best I have ever seen in my life. The shots are all perfect and the lighting immaculate. Aronofsky seems to have gone with mostly centered shots, which may sound dull at first glance, however, they most definitely are not. It is not as gimmicky or manipulative as Requiem or even Pi were, but the visuals could take your breath away. They are that stunning. To make things even more impressive, they chose not to use CGI for much of the film and instead filmed chemical reactions and formations on petri dishes and were able to extrapolate that into fantastical imagery. As far as the acting goes, this is without a doubt the best work of Hugh Jackman and while Rachel Weisz is also very good, it is mainly Jackman that carries the movie as he is the lead role. I actually enjoyed the rest of the supporting cast even in their small roles. Specifically, Ellen Burstyn, Mark Margolis, and Cliff Curtis. The musical score is just another thing on its own. Clint Mansell, having collaborated in the past for both Pi and Requiem for a Dream creates a most ethereal musical score. The Kronos Quartet, who had the theme song for the movie Requiem for a Dream, entitled Lux Aeterna, and Scottish post rockers Mogwai fill out most of this blissful soundtrack. The music meshes wonderfully with the movie even though there are, three different periods so to speak. Furthermore, the explosions in music, re: Mogwai and the whole post-rock genre completely gels and interlaces with the revelations experienced and ideas expressed within the film. I won't reveal too much as to what unfolds in the movie, however, it is a beautiful story of love, and what one discovers about himself and the world in this quest of undying love. There are so many facets, so many nooks and cranies that this film dares to explore all at once in such majestic fashion it is truely unbelievable. It connects emotionally with the viewer, my heart started palpitating at various points and near the very end my eyes watered up for a good five minutes. Aronofsky explores my ideas and themes in this movie, though the main ones I think are acceptance and duality. The movie is incessantly deep and heavy and therefore requires repeated viewings for sure. Those of you who have seen Pi, this is in many ways a sister movie to that. Just as Pi attempts to understand natural surroundings and life through mathematics, The Fountain follows suit but on the path of spirituality and philosophy. In closing, I still require many hours to ponder the ideas in this movie, in fact I have been watching the trailer nonstop since I got home. Aronofsky possesses immense testicular fortitude to be able to make a film like this for wide release. He has my utmost respect for attempting such an ambitious film that has come across to me at least as highly successful.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful

JacobC.

Jan 3, 2007

I can understand the hesitance from some people about liking this film or not. Certainly it is not for the casual film goer. Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain requires the viewer to place themselves outside of the norm and rethink the way films are made and viewed. It may seem a I can understand the hesitance from some people about liking this film or not. Certainly it is not for the casual film goer. Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain requires the viewer to place themselves outside of the norm and rethink the way films are made and viewed. It may seem a difficult task for some, but with the best acting Hugh Jackman has ever shown, flawless editing and a beautiful script, the pay-off is well worth the extra effort. With his ever-changing style and artistic vision, Aronofsky has proven his role as a staple in film history.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

JessicaG.

Dec 4, 2006

2 of 3 users found this helpful

drlowdon

Apr 7, 2018

The Fountain focuses primarily on Tom Creo, a biologist who faces losing his wife Izzie to cancer. Intertwined within this story are the tales of a sixteenth century conquistador and, what appears to be, a space traveller in the twenty-sixth century. Exactly how these three stories areThe Fountain focuses primarily on Tom Creo, a biologist who faces losing his wife Izzie to cancer. Intertwined within this story are the tales of a sixteenth century conquistador and, what appears to be, a space traveller in the twenty-sixth century. Exactly how these three stories are linked is open to debate, even amongst those that have seen the movie.

If you’ve ever seen any movies by director Darren Aronofsky (such as Requiem for a Dream or Black Swan) you’ll be familiar with the way he plays around with the structure of the stories he tells and leaves many aspects up to the views to interpret, and that has never been more true than it is here. Critics have always been hugely divided on the merits of this movie and I can imagine some will absolutely love this movie whilst others hate it.

Personally I did find a lot to enjoy here with excellent performances by Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman and visually the movie is spectacular in places. The central concept, revolving around the way we handle death, is also tackled in an original manner and its admiral to see filmmakers take a chance with their movies. Yes, things arguably become a little muddled in places, and some may accuse The Fountain if being style over substance at times but flawed ambition is always more interesting than generic competence in my book.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MarkM

Nov 23, 2006

The 10

0 of 3 users found this helpful

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18	#18 Most Discussed Movie of 2006
60	#60 Most Shared Movie of 2006