"paradoxical romantic axiom"

"The director gives his main actors very little to do. Since their job is to embody a paradoxical romantic axiom — lovers may die, but love never does — they are trapped within a narrow range of emotions. Ms. Weisz’s role is to glow and sigh, while Mr. Jackman registers various forms of anguish and desperation. The intensity of their feeling never breaks the surface, and the frame encases them like a vitrine. It’s hard to sympathize with their hunger to overcome death, since neither one is credibly alive to begin with."

--from the new york times review of The Fountain, the new film by Darren Aronofosky.

Also, I generally never look at the so-called "health" section of newspapers, but this article from NYT made some sense.