Being as that I was a huge fan of both Pi and Requiem for a Dream, I've been really excitd for the Fountain to be released, ever since I heard about it back in early '04. Finally got a night off work, so I went with a friend to see it, and honestly, I'm not very impressed right now.
The movie was short, but yet still felt rather long. Kind of drawn-out. The problem was that honestly, without further reading online, there's no way anyone could walk out of the theater understanding it. There's so many different ways to take the movie, which may be a good thing, but not everything makes sense no matter what your theory is. It's frustrating, because I'd love to see how all these pieces go together, but I just can't figure it out.
At the end, the movie starts to get very cheesy. Hugh Jackman is floating in mid-air in the 1500's dressed as a future-monk doing yoga. Later, he stabs a tree, and semen-like fluid came out. I'm not being immature, this stuff looked like semen. Yes, it can be considered symbolic (thats all I'll say to avoid spoilers), but still, I could hear chuckles all around the theater. The entire end of the movie was flat out pretentious and cheesy.
Despite this, I found the movie to be visually beautiful, and the soundtrack was stunning. Acting was top-notch as well, and before the end, I was enjoying myself, still not as impressed as I was expecting, but still enjoying it. After the end of the movie, I left confused, disappointed, and almost laughing at the stupidity of some scenes.
There's a lot of potential from Aronofsky, but he needs to stick with a story and plot that is easier to understand. His directing and cinematography skills are clearly there; that's visable here, as well as in his two prior movies. It's the plot that is where he needs to work on.
If you like movies that make you think, and are vastly different from anything else, try to take a look if you have time. It's worth your while, but don't get too excited.
The movie was short, but yet still felt rather long. Kind of drawn-out. The problem was that honestly, without further reading online, there's no way anyone could walk out of the theater understanding it. There's so many different ways to take the movie, which may be a good thing, but not everything makes sense no matter what your theory is. It's frustrating, because I'd love to see how all these pieces go together, but I just can't figure it out.
At the end, the movie starts to get very cheesy. Hugh Jackman is floating in mid-air in the 1500's dressed as a future-monk doing yoga. Later, he stabs a tree, and semen-like fluid came out. I'm not being immature, this stuff looked like semen. Yes, it can be considered symbolic (thats all I'll say to avoid spoilers), but still, I could hear chuckles all around the theater. The entire end of the movie was flat out pretentious and cheesy.
Despite this, I found the movie to be visually beautiful, and the soundtrack was stunning. Acting was top-notch as well, and before the end, I was enjoying myself, still not as impressed as I was expecting, but still enjoying it. After the end of the movie, I left confused, disappointed, and almost laughing at the stupidity of some scenes.
There's a lot of potential from Aronofsky, but he needs to stick with a story and plot that is easier to understand. His directing and cinematography skills are clearly there; that's visable here, as well as in his two prior movies. It's the plot that is where he needs to work on.
If you like movies that make you think, and are vastly different from anything else, try to take a look if you have time. It's worth your while, but don't get too excited.
