Why watch a movie about a failed architect surrounded by losers (#UncleBillyMustDie) when you can watch this cool looking Ayn Rand adaptation instead?
Of course, THESE people hate it:
The Fountainhead begins in a universe that does not, nor ever has, existed. It’s a universe where people constantly tell you they hate you because you’re original. You know how, when you’re a kid, you tell yourself that anyone who doesn’t like something you’ve done is just jealous? Well, in The Fountainhead‘s universe, that’s actually true and people will tell you that to your face. They will tell you they don’t like your new building design because it’s too good, and you’re a genius, and civilization will crumble if men are allowed to think for themselves.
Except for the part where this has actually happened to me.
Anyhow:
Ayn Rand became famous for the philosophies outlined in her books and her screenplay puts them on full display. Roark can destroy anything he makes, even if paid and contracted by someone else to do it. His arguments at the end win his freedom in Rand’s universe but in any other, he would have been laughed out of the courtroom while the judge asked, “You’re joking, right?” Her screenplay is filled with ludicrous setups, condoned rape, and sexual innuendo blunt enough to seem sophomoric to a fifth grader. And yet, its very outlandishness also makes it eminently watchable. When Francon rides that elevator up to her demi-god, Roarke, in the final shot, Rand’s notion of the self-serving individual is on full display. Roarke has beaten everyone by standing his ground and now the woman who thought she might best him is riding up to meet him. He lowers himself for no one, not even the woman who loves him.
