Director Profile: Darren Aronofsky

Wherein I rank every widely available, feature-length, film of a specific director of my choosing. I have not seen many directors’ entire filmographies, so this may not be too long of a running feature. But I’m bored and I don’t feel like dissecting the propaganda in Michael Moore movies right now. Let’s start with Darren Aronofsky and his four movies.

40-year-old Darren Aronofsky is a master of art house cinema. All of his films are built upon basic human emotions. He takes depressing subjects and uses his craft to portray them in a daring, occasionally unpleasant, way.

4. Requiem for a Dream
I hate Requiem for a Dream. It’s preachy, overly dramatic, and showcases a, in my mind, boring culture. The movie, however, is extraordinarily well put together. Ellen Burstyn is astounding in her “story”. She is the heart of the film.

My hatred stems from a scene showing a doctor neglecting service to someone (He just looks at the person and sends him to prison. It’s retarded.) and from the reaction many people have to the movie (Not really the movie’s fault, I realize.). The movie is similar in subject and acclaim to Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (which I also did not like). I tend to hate things that are overwhelmingly praised by people in my age group. When I talk to others about it, they use words like “subtle” and “life-like”. Granted, I speak to a lot of idiots in my line of work. (Sometimes it’s tough being a fighter pilot who wrestles megalodons for show. The blue guy waving is me. Hi, Sweeney!) Requiem for a Dream is definitely not subtle. It is blatantly anti-drug (which is not a bad thing). People never bring up anything good about the movie. They simply focus on the rebellious points they think it is trying to make.

If you have the time, you can actually watch it right now on Hulu. By all means, form your own opinion. Let me know. I won’t be offended.

(Noteworthy Note: Jared Leto is terrible. Dreamy, but terrible.)

3. The Fountain
The Fountain is about… okay, I do not know what it’s about. Uh. Love, I guess? Yeah, love. It plays with time and is confusing. The “fountain” may be the Fountain of Youth or it may be about three entirely different Hugh Jackman characters. I’m not sure. Like Danny Boyle’s Sunshine (a few years later), it is visually stunning.

2. π
I think π was the first black and white movie I ever willingly watched (of course, it was made 1999). According to the DVD features, Aronofsky made this movie for $60,000 he had gathered from his family and friends. Each person contributed around $100 and was returned $150 when the film was bought by a studio. It’s a stylish (very high contrast) and effective thriller. As with the previous movies on this list, I’m not sure what is really happening within the reality of the film—which makes for rewarding re-watching.

1. The Wrestler
I love The Wrestler. It is so rare to see people who are good at and happy with their jobs in movies. This movie is full of them. The wrestlers, played mostly by real people (not actors), are perfectly content with their own personality and their in-the-ring persona. The wrestling “shop talk” blew me away as a former pro wrestling viewer (it’s been more than six years, I swear). It is all about entertaining their audience.

I do not have the writing ability to adequately praise Mickey Rourke’s performance. He’s good. He’s great. If I had to invent a word to describe his performance it would be “tremawesensationalifying.” During awards season, it was popular among critics to say that Rourke’s performance was much better than the movie. I disagree. The performance is the movie. Having just watched The Wrestler again, I think I can happily say it was my favorite movie of 2008.

Upcoming Project(s)
RoboCop
Yeah. Really. I have never seen a RoboCop movie, but I would assume that many would find Aronofsky an odd choice. Of course, you could say that about any of his movies. He always surprises. I have no idea how far this is into production (or even if it has started). It may never happen. Aronofsky was once slated to direct an adaptation of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One (SOURCE) and Alan Moore’s Watchmen (SOURCE). Obviously, he did not make either of those movies (and I am a happy man!).

Final Word
I compared two of Aronofsky’s movies to Danny Boyle’s work. They both are always able to translate their style to any environment. Regardless of the subject, Aronofsky has an uncanny ability to capture an appropriate tone for his films. He has dealt with emotions that are personal and difficult among everyone: stress, addiction, love, and loneliness. These things can make his movies tough to watch. Nevertheless, Darren Aronofsky has shown a supreme understanding of the art of film throughout his career, and with The Wrestler, he has established himself as a director I will always pay (ha!) to see.