The Fountain
Three incarnations of the same man seek a fountain of youth.
Don't be fooled by the art-school flourish, said Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times. The Fountain is an empty directorial indulgence. Darren Aronofsky (Pi and Requiem for a Dream) hopes that "heaps of phony portent and all-purpose mystical imagery" will make up for this movie's lack of real depth. Hugh Jackman plays the same man in the past, present, and future. In 2006, he's a doctor trying to save his wife (Rachel Weisz) from a fatal brain tumor. In the 16th century, he's seeks a New World fountain of youth for Queen Isabella (also played by Weisz). In the future, he's a bald space traveler in a floating bubble. Take away the three-part conceit, and you're left with Love Story'“style drivel about a man who falls in love with a dying girl. But you've got to admit that this film is a visual stunner, said Michael Booth in The Denver Post. If a few of the overwrought emotional scenes had been left on the cutting room floor, the film could be "a memorable sci-fi oddity." There's something to be said for this level of pretentiousness, said Jim Emerson in the Chicago Sun-Times. This movie, like the search for immortality itself, is ambitious folly. "I'd much rather watch somebody shoot for the moon when the stakes are sky-high than sit back while they play it safe."
Rating: PG-13
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82