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The Prestige + The Fountain
Jan. 21st, 2007 09:07 pmIn the past week I've seen two movies that I can't tell you exactly the plot of, except for one thing: SEE THEM NOW.
The Prestige is a Chinese puzzle of a Victorian story, boxes and mirrors and stage machinery whirring somewhere in the smoke. Christopher Nolan's storytelling is beyond masterful: I've now read the book, and I can tell you frankly that the movie's better. I can't think of a single possible improvement. And when you throw in Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as adversaries - not to mention a cameo byJareth and Gollum!Igor David Bowie and Andy Serkis as the mad scientist and his henchman - I just squeed. Loudly. And the complexity is stunning: for once there is no right or wrong. Only the show.
The Fountain once again pairs Hugh Jackman with a stunning director. Darren Aronofsky's forte is emotion and imagery, and he delivers in spades. There are layers upon layers, self-referential and closing in on themselves, and there is the Inquisition and cancer research and space travel. And it all makes sense. Hugh, Hugh, Hugh - if you ever had doubts he could act, here he carries the entire movie, tragically and beautifully. For all the stunning images, this is a very simple story. Death happens, and then we move on.
Those are also two movies I'd recommend for anyone who ever plans to write. The Prestige, to see what plotting and layering and Chinese-puzzle structure can do when you make it jump. The Fountain, for how to portray cathartic grief, in all stages, in a way that leaves the audience with smiles on their faces, the kind of smile a good memory of a departed loved one brings with it.
(The Fountain is also remarkable for a wonderfully sensitive image of animal testing. Just in case you're as allergic to it as I am - no animals die onscreen or off, no pain is shown, and the researchers truly care for the animals as living beings. For once, I didn't mind this motif, though I'm usually extremely allergic to it.)
The Prestige is a Chinese puzzle of a Victorian story, boxes and mirrors and stage machinery whirring somewhere in the smoke. Christopher Nolan's storytelling is beyond masterful: I've now read the book, and I can tell you frankly that the movie's better. I can't think of a single possible improvement. And when you throw in Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as adversaries - not to mention a cameo by
The Fountain once again pairs Hugh Jackman with a stunning director. Darren Aronofsky's forte is emotion and imagery, and he delivers in spades. There are layers upon layers, self-referential and closing in on themselves, and there is the Inquisition and cancer research and space travel. And it all makes sense. Hugh, Hugh, Hugh - if you ever had doubts he could act, here he carries the entire movie, tragically and beautifully. For all the stunning images, this is a very simple story. Death happens, and then we move on.
Those are also two movies I'd recommend for anyone who ever plans to write. The Prestige, to see what plotting and layering and Chinese-puzzle structure can do when you make it jump. The Fountain, for how to portray cathartic grief, in all stages, in a way that leaves the audience with smiles on their faces, the kind of smile a good memory of a departed loved one brings with it.
(The Fountain is also remarkable for a wonderfully sensitive image of animal testing. Just in case you're as allergic to it as I am - no animals die onscreen or off, no pain is shown, and the researchers truly care for the animals as living beings. For once, I didn't mind this motif, though I'm usually extremely allergic to it.)