Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Fountain




The Fountain is one of the best films I saw last year, but certainly would be further down the list if based soley on that. It is my fourth highest favorite film of the year for different reasons. The movie is so damn ambitious. I admire it. It has big ideas. Old ideas made fresh. And its slow, but wonderfully so. Whispered words and bark eaten in space. The light on the back of Rachel Weisz's neck. The sight of a funeral on a snowy farm. Wonderful images all working toward telling the story. The story can be difficult to follow with its bouncing from way in the past to the present to way in the future. But it works to tell of a love, an obsession that stood alone through time. Sounds pretentious, huh. Yeah, maybe. But so what. It's a beautiful film worth watching again and again. After the first time I saw the movie, it rolled about in my head for days, keeping my thought hostage when I was supposed to be learning or listening to conversation. And I liked it. I liked asking questions after the last reel finished. There's a lot to be asked. Such as, with a director so confident, a story so rich, and a pair of talented performer to guide us, why are there moments of unreal emotion, stretches of inauthenticity and, GASP, overacting? I couldn't explain. I'm not sure the people involved in the making of the film could tell you. In spite of a few moments of forced emotion and crazy eyes, I found Hugh Jackman's peformance in The Fountain to be my favorite of his. He's constantly seeking to stretch his limits, to explore his acting range. I guess I never really felt he had done that before. Sure, the fruits of his labors can feel over-the-top at times, but at times I was completely on board with the guy.
As the music (a highlight of the film) swelled, my heart did the same. The last big hurrah of the film really punctuated the feelings I had for everything prior.


***1/2

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