It is a faintly surreal experience shopping and going about town the day before a major holiday. I would have expected the Borders at South Park to be packed, or at least busy at 7 PM tonight. Instead, the place was nearly empty. The clerk who rang me up said that they called this day “White Wednesday”–the calm before the retail onslaught of “Black Friday.”
Similarly, when we arrived at the movie theater, there were only a half dozen other people there to see The Fountain.
I highly recommend seeing this film soon, because the visuals are stunning and I doubt it will stay on the big screen long. In fact, Blake and I were both amazed that this movie got made at all, much less with a major theatrical release and the actor who played Wolverine in the leading role! Director Aronofosky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) takes the kind of risks with chronology and plot that most big Hollywood films avoid at all costs. Interweaving multiple genres and story lines for the two lead actors, The Fountain creates a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. You may find the film melodramatic, murky, or just plain silly in places, but I give it points for ambition. The closest analogy I can give is an inward-looking 2001: A Space Odyssey.