Modern Masters: Darren Aronofsky

There are many people who will go and see a film because of an actor. Perhaps they really respect them, think they are the best at what they do or maybe they just think that they are really hot. Whatever it is, with their presence, they draw the punters in. But me, being the film buff that I am, the reasons are is slightly different. For me it is often the director that I find alluring more then anything else. From Hitchcock to Kubrick, Lang to Nolan, I am a creature who feels that the director can really make a difference in a film: I’ll either avoid it like the plague (cue the Michael Bay slagging) or I’ll wait patiently in the queue to see it on day one no matter what happens.

This week on the movie blog, I hope to start a new feature where I will discuss some of my favourite directors and what I think makes them god-like geniuses. The first one is none other than Mr. Darren Aronofsky.

Aronofsky is a talent whom I have long admired. His skill is to produce stunning films is something that few people have the ability to produce. His ability to draw me into see a film is clear and I think it is clear for the world to see. Who else have thought that a ballet film based on Swan Lake would be worth watching? When it’s put that way, I would have trotted off to the cinema on press day dreading what was to come if it was any other director. When you know it is an Aronofsky film, your attitude to does a 180. I woke up feeling excited as if it was Christmas or the start of a new relationship because today was the day that I would get to see the new Aronofsky film and I was not disappointed.

Aronofsky can do something that few other directors have the ability to do: In Black Swan he was able to draw on the variation in colour, in the blacks and whites. Black being the evil, the seducer, whereas white is good, wholesome, innocent. If you watch closely in Black Swan, the characters that are the least damaged have a mix of black and white; they are the shade of grey. Watching Natalie Portman transform is something of great beauty as well. Again if you watch closely she starts off being completely white, in the middle of the film she wears shades of grey and by the end she is wearing black to illustrate her transformation into the Black Swan.

Yet Black Swan is not Aronofsky’s only triumph. From his early Requiem for a Dream days you see how he brilliantly illustrates the dangers of drug use in a film that is better then anything schools would try to show students to not go on drugs. The falling from grace, their desperation is so well done that it shows that Aronofsky is a master at illustrating the deconstruction of the human condition.

Further what Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan and The Wrestler all have in common is that they are accompanied by amazing soundtracks. It is a shame, but true, that it would seem that most directors these days have forgotten just how useful a good score can be. How, when implemented right, it can complement the work and build the tension better then many other techniques. In all three of these films, the score is perfect, showing the mood and anguish, the pain, the torture and sometimes the happiness that only music can bring.

I have yet to talk about The Wrestler but this too is one of my favourite films. With a distinctive feel that differs to both Black Swan and Requiem, The Wrestler is a grounded piece that focuses on realism as it explores the falseness of pro wrestling. Mickey Rourke stole the show in this film and deserved an Oscar for it as his character is amongst his best work. He and Aronofsky create a convincing lead who is depressed and lonely, with nothing left but his memories. The only time he seems happy is in the ring and when he sees his daughter. It is heartbreaking to watch a man fall apart in front of your eyes as well as seeing that he thinks that it’s the only place he belongs, and that the only people who respect and like him are the wrestling fans and the wrestling ring. Also Bruce Springsteen’s seminal track of the same name, has so much heart, so much compassion that it adds a lot to the film that does not need anything more.

So, this is why I am upset that Aronofsky will not be directing The Wolverine. I think that the man is a genius in his field, a modern day Mozart for film and anyone that has never seen his work should check him out now. You will not be disappointed.