The Fountain | Film by Darren Aronofsky (writer and director)

My favourite Hugh Jackman film (yeah, it’s better than all the X-Men films).

Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Pi, Black Swan), it tracks three parallel storylines about the fear of losing something or someone that you love.

In the first storyline Jackman is a researcher desperately trying to find a new treatment for his wife’s brain tumour. In the second he is a conquistador, searching the New World for a way to save Spain during The Inquisition. In the third he is an ascetic trying to save a dying tree, floating through space in a giant bubble.

The stories overlap and intertwine; in all three stories Jackman is searching for a way to spend eternity with his love.

My favourite parts of the film are the shots with the tree-bubble floating through the nebula — they look incredible. Although you might think that they required 100s of hours of CGI… you’d be wrong. They were actually created by using microphotography to film yeast and other organic items in a Petri dish!

The film was originally cast with Brad Pitt in the lead role and Cate Blanchett playing his wife. When Brad Pitt pulled out, the project died for a couple of years… until Aronofsky recast the film in 2004 with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz.

The recasting led to the film’s budget being slashed in two. I definitely don’t think this was a bad thing — the limited use of CGI is perfect for the film’s magical realism. You won’t regret watching it.