Apple TV+ Film “Fountain of Youth” Revives Movie Magic
nwhile, belongs to a secret organization that protects the fountain, and so is chasing Charlotte and Luke throughout their globe-trotting journey. While entirely modern and grown-up, Fountain of Youth channels the wonderment of adventure flicks of time past (think Indiana Jones or just about any other early Steven Spielberg movie), letting viewers embrace nostalgia and reconnect with their inner child.
Portman’s Charlotte is right there to take audiences on that ride over the course of the film. Charlotte is a single mom who has chosen a more safe and secure life than the one she was raised in, and has become estranged from Luke after the death of their father (a wild and audacious archaeologist who passed on his penchant for escapades). She’s by-the-book, more straight edge and ruled by her logic-first brain, there to quash every one of Luke’s grand, far-fetched theories based on nothing but mythology. But even as their travels get hairy, Charlotte sticks with Luke, unlocking a similar childlike curiosity and joy that viewers are likely to be feeling.
“Like so many of us, Charlotte is a reaction to the generation before her; her response [to her dad] is to be like, ‘I need to make it safe for my own child. I need to be reliable and responsible. It might be a little boring, but that’s better as a mom,’” Portman says. “But she rediscovers that it’s possible to bring fun, and wonder and adventure into your child’s life and also into your own life. I definitely related to that as a mom, and I think a lot of adults might relate to that as well, whether or not they have children. There can be a balance between what it means to be a responsible adult while also holding onto some of that wonder of youth.”
On set, the actors were also feeling that same sensation. It’s not hard, after all, to feel like you’re in a playground when your office is literally an ancient pyramid. For Gleeson, tapping into the astonishment on set was essential. “This movie isn’t really going to happen unless you’re having fun,” he says. “And John, Natalie and Guy made it a point to keep things fun. I felt like a kid when we were at the pyramids. You look around, and the costumes are wild, and you’re like, ‘Holy hell, this is really a movie and we’re actually shooting it.’”
Krasinski agrees that filming at the pyramids was a highlight. “It wasn’t hard to play jaw-dropping because they were right there—I couldn’t believe they let us get that close,” he says. “There was no acting required.
