Review of The Fountain (2006) by Luis R — 29 May 2013

The Fountain is an incredibly ambitious film that crams too much into its slim 90 minutes, but has just enough moments to keep it from being the disaster it could have been. The story isn't the most involving thing in the world and goes back and forth between three very distinct & different stories all tied together by the subject & characters it is portraying.

The visuals are solid as is the acting, but the pacing could have used a little adjusting. It starts and ends very slow, even though the middle section was the most involved part for me as a whole and kept my attention.

The Fountain has lofty ambitions and tackles many subjects all at once and doesn't quite do some of them as well as others. Some feel a little "tacked-on" and pretentious at times, but others are delivered pretty well.

This film has started to take on a little bit of a cult classic status and I can see why. It will make you think hard and requires perhaps a little too much from the viewer after a first viewing, but subsequent viewings certainly seem like they would be more rewarding.

I may not ever re-watch this film, but I have a feeling I would end up liking it more if I did. Aronofsky is an incredibly talented director and even though this isn't his best work to date, it's unique and definitely better than most of what Hollywood produces these days.

I can't fully recommend it, but if the premise interests you than give it a watch. It might surprise you.