This Ben Child item at The Guardian has me steaming. The quote, following a recounting of “The Fountain”‘s crash and burn at Venice two years ago, that pushed me over the edge:
How would Aronofsky recover? Despite being heralded as one of Hollywood’s most hotly-tipped young film-makers, he was a little early in his career to be making such a horrendous, narcissistic error of judgement. But recover he has. Could it be that the epic failure of The Fountain was just the kick in the teeth Aronofsky needed to get him back on track? There’s nothing like wasting six years of your life on a project, only to see all the doubters that tried to stop you getting it made proved correct, to persuade you to keep it simple the next time.
Ass. There are some of us that actually liked the film, bub. Enough to consider its ambition worth more than the shitstorm that ensued. There’s never anything worse than critics that smell blood, but whatever.
Comments
15 responses to “Fuck that”
The Fountain is absolutely brilliant; a meditation on life, death, and love.
This is the difficulty when masters of their craft make films that don’t fit into easy to define categories; they are polarizing. The unfortunate part is that some critics believe that a majority opinion equals a correct opinion.
The Fountain was the best film of 2006, hands down, because it was so novel. As much as I’m looking forward to The Wrestler, I don’t have the expectations that it will surpass The Fountain because it is a “normal” narrative. I’d love to be surprised though.
The Fountain is completely misunderstood. A brilliant film, but no one can deny its immense scope and originality. Wait a few more years and it’s a classic.
You tell ’em Kristopher! What a fucking presumptuous douchebag. I absolutely loved “The Fountain” and for once I completely agree with your take on a movie. And as you can see from the comments above, we are not alone.
I also loved The Fountain and the presumption of the quote is even more infuriating because it fails to adequately gauge the film’s negative reviews: even the critics most disappointed in The Fountain made sure to applaud its scope.
Believe me, comments like these are encouraging. I never have a problem being alone on a film, but this one…let’s just say it’s great to have cohorts.
Yeah, Fountain was amazing. Flawed (slightly), but it is underrated.
I really liked The Fountain when it came out, but I felt alone in that. I admired Hugh Jackman’s performance and thought that an actor so game to try anything the director wanted was an actor directors should be fighting to work with.
And yes, the director DID simplify the grand effects he had thought of, and made them differently, beautifully, and effectively. (with a wonderful musical score).
Working on an actors/director collaboration like The Fountain is what gives directors expertise.
And no, I’m not as excited about The Wrestler as I was about The Fountain. Sorry, a wrestling film with Mickey Rourke may be very good, but for me will never have have the appeal of Hugh Jackman in a mythic romance.
believe it or not I thought it was the Best Pic of that year….
http://www.awardscircuit.com
In regards to “The Fountain”: read the graphic novel as well as see the film and the whole concept is just amazing.
Yeah, I read that article earlier, and thought of you, Kris, immediately. That is just bad writing on behalf of Mr. Child.
I didn’t LOVE “The Fountain” nearly as much as many of these commenters did, but it was by no means a “crash and burn.” That’s just damn ignant.
Joey:
http://www.incontention.com/classic/2006/12/a_good_year_indeed_the_best_fi.html
The Z: The graphic novel is splendid, has a comfortable spot on my bookshelf.
I had The Fountain as #5 of 2006. I totally understand why some people may not like it and how this guy could’ve relayed how it was seen by most as a failure, but yea, brilliant, moving, stunning film so Wrestler is hardly a “comeback.”
Let me say something to whoever wrote this piece on “The fountain”. It is a complex movie and you need to see it more than once to understand it. I’ve seen it many times and i still find new things. it’s a gripping story with amazing soundtrack and beatiful performances. I am not a film critic but i have to say, being objective, that this is one of the great movies of ’06 and of Aronofsky (i haven’t seen “The Wrestler” yet) . I was very surprised to hear that “The Fountain” wasn’t liked. Maybe my taste is different. I said my peace.
Ah, I just revisited your 2006 Top Ten and remembered why I became such a fan of InContention in the first place — our mutual love for the otherwise totally shafted “Breaking and Entering.”
That Ben Child item is sheer silliness, but he’s not even one of their regular critics, so it means nothing.