'The Fountain': The movie that was "a real turning point" for Hugh Jackman

 Individually, actor Hugh Jackman and director Darren Aronofsky have enjoyed highly successful careers. However, when the pair worked together on 2006’s The Fountain, it didn’t plan out as many had hoped. Despite its expansive plot and narrative, the time-spanning film failed to live up to its critical and commercial potential.

Of course, Jackman is the star of the X-Men franchise and is the character of Wolverine to many of us. Elsewhere, the actor has starred in acclaimed titles such as The Prestige, Australia, Les Misérables, Prisoners and The Greatest Showman. As for Aronofsky, he’s directed a host of modern classics such as Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan, and most recently, The Whale.When it was announced that the pair would be working together on the sprawling epic romance, The Fountain, Hollywood was seeming abuzz with excitement. However, the film proved a commercial and critical flop, now holding a cult status amongst cinema aficionados. Despite the movie’s perceived failures, Jackman and Aronofsky are still very fond of their project.

When speaking to Vanity Fair in January 2023, both Jackman and Aronofsky discussed The Fountain and its place in their careers. Jackman even went as far as to describe the movie as “a real turning point for me as an actor”.Jackman said that The Fountain “was a real turning point for me as an actor…I have had, and still have, an immense trust and honesty with Darren about everything, to the point where Darren would often be right next to the camera while we were shooting. It made me realise how much I want and rely on strength, vision, collaborators, people to help guide me that I can trust. And the experience confirmed to me that was the way I should go.” 

Aronofsky explained: “Well, for me, it’s a long journey that’s still ongoing. I think there’s a deep love for that film that I haven’t gotten from anything else and that it keeps coming.”Noting the aspects that profoundly impacted the audience, the director discussed how the film affected a man who was really sick. He revealed: “He basically said that The Fountain helped him figure out his life and his death. He got all emotional. And it was interesting for my parents, who never really quite got that one. They got really choked up. So the impact of it in that way is so meaningful for me that it really has touched a lot of people that have gone through loss.”

Jackman continued, expanding on The Fountain‘s importance: “When people stop me, it’s the most passionate response of any movie I’ve done. The ones who get it have to tell me, and they have to tell me fully what it meant to them.”