THE FOUNTAIN (2006)

If you've seen The Fountain, chances are you either found it a work of genius or, like I did, an interesting failure. It's a love story between a man, a woman, and a tree; with the characters somehow living three separate lifetimes: past, present, and future. Darren Aronofsky has indicated that only the present-day storyline might be real; the past story is the book that Rachel Weisz' character is writing, and the future might be a fantasy or some kind of astral projection. But of course it's one of those films that's open-ended enough to have room for different theories on it.

I personally found it intriguing but ultimately disappointing, until my brilliant wife rescued it for me with a completely different take on the story. She watched it and saw a single timeline with the same characters over hundreds of years. Which is slightly wackier, but as it turns out I like her version better. Aronofsky's version, a letdown. Faith Fennessey's version, one of the greatest sci-fi films I've ever seen.

If you'll be so kind as to follow me to the comments section, I'll break it down and you can see if you agree. (Spoilers ahead. But go ahead and read it, it's not like I can stop you. Ruin the movie for yourself if you want, tough guy.)

PRIMER (2004)

Think of what the word "scientist" usually means in the realm of movies. As often as not it's some cackling maniac in a lab coat, pissing in his pants and polishing his ultimate death ray. Now imagine a mad scientist movie that didn't feel like watching a movie at all--that feels like it could be happening right next door.

Our scientist character doesn't labor alone in some fortress, he works in an office park, maybe sidelines after hours in his garage. He doesn't mutter about how the establishment laughed at his brilliant theories, but he does sweat the fact that his engineering firm is likely going to put him out to pasture by age 40. He's not a megalomaniac, he's a bright guy with an ordinary level of vanity, an ordinary level of ethical blindness. He doesn't go around coldly stabbing his friends in the back to get what he wants, but he might experience a tragic failure to trust at a crucial moment. He's not out to conquer the world, he's someone who dreams of being a hero but looks in the mirror and sees an average schmuck. Then quite by accident he invents something that he could use to fix his life. And just like that he's on the road to hell.

First-timer Shane Carruth brought an engineer's merciless efficiency to writing and filming a sci-fi film for a mere $7000. His special effects amount to little more than some wonderfully believable technical dialogue. He refuses to spoon-feed you any exposition, he lets you listen in on scientists talking scientist stuff. The film starts out nearly impenetrable and only gets more so as events accelerate faster than the characters can understand them. But it's one of those films where the sense of disorientation it creates is part of the fun.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)

I finally caught this on DVD. (I don't get out that much. A trip to the video store is a big event around my house.)

I had heard that the movie is great up until the ending, which I heard described as confusing and pointless. I can understand the confusion, because the movie fakes you out. It's pretending to be a certain kind of film that you've seen a million times. The kind that only flirts with existential dread. When Tommy Lee Jones showed up early on, I actually said to my wife, "Oh, it's Tommy Lee Jones, everything's going to be all right now". Which is exactly what I was supposed to think.

Like the motorist pulled over by the police cruiser in an early scene, you respond automatically to certain signals that reassure you that a safety net is in place. But the safety net hasn't held, and the tent around you is on fire. The film leaves you standing, slack-jawed and dull-eyed like cattle, watching the bolt aimed at your brain but failing to understand its purpose until it's too late.