Movie Review: The Fountain

It's not the gray hairs or the increasing frequency of wrinkles that have made mankind search for the seed of Immortality across the ages, but rather the underlying fear of death and losing the one you love that drives us to make the concept a reality. Well, that's what Darren Arnofsky seems to think in his new film "The Fountain" starring Hugh Jackman ( X-Men, Someone Like You ) and Rachel Weisz ( The Constant Gardner, About a Boy. ) But immortality isn't really what it seems.

Jackman and Wiesz star in a relationship that spans three time periods. The first tale begins with a Spanish conquistador Tomas (Jackman) in his quest for the Tree of Life in the 1500's. The Queen of Spain (Weisz), sends Tomas to New Spain deep in the heart of Mayan territory to find the Fountain of Youth, a legend which she believes to be real and tied to the biblical Tree of Life.

The second tale is set in modern day 2006, where Tommy Creo, a medical scientist, struggles to find a cure for his wife, Isabel, who is dying of cancer. In his attempts to save her, he forgets that his time should be shared not only in the lab searching for a cure, but also with Izzy in the trivial things of life.

The third tale is set in 2500 where Tom, an astronaut traveling in space attempts to let go of his lost love and free himself from the shackles of her memories and let them be laid to rest.

Having touched upon the world of mathematics in Pi, and the difficulties of addiction in Requiem for a Dream, Arnofsky takes a turn and heads for un-chartered waters with three stories about love, life, and what drives us to want to live beyond the limits of it.

The images on screen are stunning and the tale of Tom in the future stands as a visual masterpiece. Although the tales are loosely connected in a somewhat non-linear fashion, the central tale of Tommy in modern day and his eternal love for Izzy (Isabel) stands as an emotional knot that ties all three together. His love for her is replicated across the tales and the transitions from each move beautifully with the music composed by Clint Mansell.

Of course, this is in no small part due to the performances by Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz who both manage to drive the emotion of the film. Veteran actress Ellen Burstyn joins Director Darren Arnofsky once again in the middle-tale as Tom's colleague and motherly figure to Izzy, and does so in exceptional fashion as she did in 'Requiem'.

The Fountain does have an odd twist to one of the tales which could be enough to rattle some movie-goers, but the texture of this film is one like no other and certainly worth seeing.