MAYBE WATCH THIS FILM! - The Fountain

There are some things in this world I just don't get.

The appeal of Russell Brand is one. Why people seem to like tomatoes is another. I'd also put 'art' on that list, which is a pretty broad claim. I don't get art. Well, to put it more succinctly, I'm perhaps not intelligent enough to get it. I was tempted to say pretentious, but that's unfair. Not everyone who appreciates Matisse or Turner wears a fashionable scarf, drinks pinot grigio and have a regular box at Wimbledon. No, I just don't think I have the smarts up top to actively want to trundle round the Tate rather than visit an arcade and play Time Crisis.

Which is probably one of the reasons why I didn't really 'get' The Fountain.

It's really quite a movie, in fairness. Beautiful doesn't come close to describing it. Darren Aronofsky has always been a talented guy and here he gives us his Solaris - a thoughtful meditation on life and death wrapped around a pretty epic timeframe and serious science-fiction leanings. I say this because one of the three threads that make up the narrative involve a bald Hugh Jackman travelling through space in a bubble with a massive tree. Either Aronofsky is a genius, or he was on some heavy-duty crystal meth when he was writing this. I'm sure most would say the former.

Point is, I found it much more a piece of 'art' than a movie itself, and this is where me and the interest level part company.

I was genuinely engaged by the performances. You can't not like Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz is never anything less than radiant (I once met a girl who was the spit of her, but that's a story for another day...). The scenes involving 15th century conquistadors wrapped up in Mayan mythology are also truly thrilling and mystical, to the point I was disappointed when we cut to the worryingly slow present day thread or Jackman and his Future Tree. There's a lot to recommend here - this is genuinely film-making. It's ideas. It's beauty. It's acting. It's something that should stand the test of time.

But it's not for everyone. It's not really for me, by and large. I just don't have the bus fayre. I can't be doing with 'art'. I never have, I doubt I ever will. Therefore, while leaving me deeply respectful of all involved, The Fountain also left me cold. I suggest you check it out and see what it does to you.