My Review: Pi (7/10)

"When your mind becomes obsessed with anything, you will filter everything else out and find that thing everywhere."

Darren Aronofsky's first feature film, Pi, was a unique and experimental movie that cemented his status as an auteur director. Even in his latest big budget film, Noah, his unique and creative voice shined through. Just like his characters, Aronofsky seems obsessed with discovering what drives them. His films are a psychological character study in which he delves deep into their minds in order to try to discover what leads them to their self destructive behavior. In the surface, Pi may sound like a boring film dealing with math and numbers, but Aronofsky sucks you in from the beginning with his very unique style of film making including some crazy chase scenes shown in fast motion and a strange soundtrack. The cinematography in dirty black and white sets the tone of the film as well, although I didn't find it quite engaging. It's amazing what Aronofsky did with such a low budget and it won him special recognition. He won for best director in Sundance in 1998 and an Independent Spirit Award for his first screenplay. He also proved Pi was no one hit wonder as his following films were all received with warm praise by the critics. Aronfofsky's unique personal vision is reflected in each one of his films and if you go back to Pi you will find several similarities and trademarks that were already established from the beginning. If Pi were my first film from Aronofsky I might have enjoyed it even more, but I think he has perfected his craft in films like Black Swan and The Wrestler.

The screenplay written by Darren Aronofsky and Sean Gullette centers on a mathematical genius named Max (Sean Gullette). He's a number theorist who believes that nature can be explained through numbers and that there are patterns that can emerge from it. He is working on discovering these pattern through the stock market and considering all the variables involved. He works in his home through a homemade computer he has developed. He locks himself in his small apartment and becomes obsessed with discovering these patterns while also worrying that people are spying on him. He suffers from terrible headaches that sometimes lead him to delusions so he is currently on medication and at times its hard to decipher if he is really seeing things or imagining them. One of the few people Max interacts with is Sol (Mark Margolis) who is his former math mentor. He worries about Max's obsession and asks him to take a break, but Max is determined to discover the pattern that could unlock the mysteries of nature. The other person who Max interacts with is Lenny (Ben Shenkman), a Jew who is currently working on the numbers from the Torah. As Max becomes more and more obsessed with unlocking these numbers the crazier things get for him.

I really enjoyed this film despite the fact that I knew where it was heading. Although his characters are very different in every film the resolution is very similar and the ending is always open ended for the audience to interpret. Pi marked the beginning of Aronofsky's love affair with Mark Margolis who has been in every one of his film as a secondary character. He was the only face I recognized in this film as I was unfamiliar with the rest of the cast. Sean Gullette gives a very convincing lead performance but the rest of the cast aren't as great. You could tell Aronofsky had a very limited budget to work with, but he did marvels with it. Pi is a clever film with some memorable scenes. I never thought a film about math and numbers could be so thrilling, but it is because Aronofsky manages to put the character in the center and turns it into a psychological character study.

My Review: Noah (6/10)

"My father said that one day, if man continued in his ways, the Creator would annihilate this world."

The trailers and the first half of Noah made me believe this was going to be a very different Darren Aronofsky film. Mostly known for his independent work as an art house director he centers his films on characters with strong obsessions that tend to lead them towards some form of self destruction. The first half of this film however has an epic tone with fantastic visual effects and a big scale production unlike what we've seem in his past films. That firs half reminded me a lot of other epic fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings. However midway through the film Aronofsky switches gears on us and returns to the themes he is known for. He centers the story around the psychological struggles Noah is going through and how his obsessive behavior begins leading him to self destruction. Kind of like what he did with the main characters in Black Swan and The Wrestler, Aronofsky tries to delve deep into the psyches of Noah and the delusions he might have been tormented by for the task he was given. This is Aronofsky's film and it is very loosely based on the Bible (Noah's story only has four short chapters in Genesis). Christians will be disappointed if they go into this expecting a film based on a biblical perspective, because Aronofsky takes many artistic liberties and creates a tormented and flawed character similar to the ones he's made in his past films. What he does different with Noah is that he begins telling the film on an epic scale and then he reduces it to a personal story centering on Noah and the struggles he faces with his family. The visuals are great and the performances are strong, but the film feels too long and it oversimplifies environmentalism to make the story relatable to modern audiences. One could even argue that Aronfosky wasn't telling a story of the past, but presenting a futuristic apocalyptic tale. 

Having read the story of Noah in Genesis I must say that this film isn't really an adaptation but more of an original screenplay written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel (who also wrote The Fountain and has produced three other Aronofsky films). The story introduces us to Noah (Russell Crowe) and his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly) who live with their three sons: Shem (Douglas Booth), Ham (Logan Lerman), and Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll). They are the only descendants of Seth that remain, the rest of the world has become wicked and disrespectful towards nature and the Creator. In a dream Noah sees water covering the Earth, and in order to understand this strange message from the Creator he visits his grandfather, Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins), who is still alive. Along the way he discovers several dead humans who have been attacked, but their is a young girl named Ila (Emma Watson) who has survived and he decides to help her and take her with him. After meeting with his grandfather, Noah understands his calling and begins building a giant ark to make space for his family and a pair of animals of every species in order to preserve creation. He encounters difficulties along the way as a group of men led by Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone) defy him, but Noah has the protection of Watchers (fallen angels who've taken the form of giant stone-like creatures). The flood is coming and Noah will stop at nothing to execute the Creator's plan.

Noah has some breathtaking scenes that work really well for an epic film like this. My favorites were the montage where Noah explains how the world has been created and the scene where he plants a seed and a spring of water comes out from Earth extending into an entire forest in a matter of seconds. The scenes involving the flood were also pretty well made. The scenery and cinematography is captured gorgeously. I also enjoyed the performances from Crowe, Watson, and Winstone. However, Noah is the only character that has depth as the rest of the cast play stereotypical characters that don't offer much to the story. The film centers on Noah's inner struggle and how he deals with the task given to him as he becomes obsessed and self destructive after seeing the wickedness of mankind. The film does become a bit heavy handed with the ecological message although it certainly simplifies it at times because what Aronofsky is really interested in exploring is the character of Noah. This might be his most ambitious film to date, but I still prefer his smaller films. The Wrestler continues to be my favorite film of his, although I still haven't seen Pi or The Fountain.

My Review: Black Swan (9/10)

¨It`s about a girl who gets turned into a swan and she needs love to break the spell, but her prince falls for the wrong girl, so she kills herself.¨

If there is any justice in the world then Natalie Portman should win the Oscar for her leading role as Nina. She has to win; her performance in Black Swan is by far the best of the year. She is just incredible in this film and the transformation her character experiences in order to become the Black Swan is just amazing. I can`t think of any other performance from any actress this year that can compare to this one because the entire movie revolves around her. The rest of the characters are all secondary, she is the only lead and star of the film. I just hope Natalie Portman didn`t have to go through all the psychological torture that her character had to go through in order to become the black swan. I would`ve never thought that a film about ballerinas could be so gruesome, raw, and full of psychological and sexual tension. This is the scariest film I`ve seen this year, and the only person who can pull off a movie like this is Darren Aronofsky. In order to direct a film of this caliber, one has to be completely submersed and passionate about the project, and Aronofsky has always proven he`s totally dedicated to his work (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Wrestler were all great and difficult films to make). Black Swan is a different kind of movie and probably will divide audiences because it isn`t a film for everyone, but if I have to compare it to any of Aronofsky`s previous films I would say it resembles The Wrestler. Mickey Rourke resurrected his career in that film playing a washed up wrestler. He had his glory days, he was passionate about his profession and didn`t know how to let go. Natalie Portman plays a ballerina in Black Swan, she`s also passionate about her craft and completely dedicated to it. Both of these characters lives revolve around their profession, Mickey is at the exit point of his career, while Natalie is just now trying to make it to the top of hers.  As different as these professions may seem, the physical and psychological pressure to succeed is the same.

Nina (Portman) is about to get the role of her dreams: Being both the white and the black swan from an adaptation of Tchaikovsky`s ballet ¨Swan Lake.¨ She has been working endlessly for an opportunity like this and when director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel), considers her as the new lead she doesn`t want to miss her shot. He has decided that it is time to find a new prima ballerina since Beth (Winona Ryder) is getting old and her career is coming to an end. Nina is one of his best and most dedicated dancers. He knows that she would make an excellent white swan due to her perfect form and technique, but she doesn`t seem to have what it takes to become the black swan. In order for the transformation to take place, Thomas insists that she loosen up and let her feelings guide her. A new ballerina named Lily (Mila Kunis) shows up and suddenly becomes a threat for Nina because she is so free and confident, everything the black swan should be. Her technique isn`t as good as Nina`s, but she sees her as a threat nonetheless and at the same time she also becomes fascinated with her. Lily represents everything that Nina has repressed her entire life, she seems to be the opposite of her and that is exactly what she needs in order to become the black swan. Nina begins to lose herself in the role, and the fine line between reality and fantasy becomes blurry.

One character I didn`t mention in the plot is Nina`s mother (played by Barbara Hershey), who is really scary and over controlling. She has definitely played a big role in Nina`s life and shaped her character. Nina is a very insecure perfectionist, but she won`t let anything stop her from getting the lead role. She begins to push herself so hard into trying to become the black swan that her life begins to get out of control. The entire cast is great in this film, but Portman steals the show. The psychological torture she goes through is perfectly captured by Aronofsky. The score is amazing and plays a huge role in building the suspense and tension as well as the cinematography of the film. Every shot is just perfectly executed. I couldn`t help but cringe every time I saw those extreme close ups of the ballerinas feet, of their nails being cut, and so on. If I ever have a daughter it`s really going to make me think twice before letting her take ballet classes. Aronofsky has completely changed my perception about ballerinas. Black Swan is a really bizarre, but great film. I recommend seeing it in the theater because the sound and cinematography in this film is just amazing. It’s one of those movies in which larger and louder can make a huge difference in the viewing experience. Aronofsky is completely in control of his craft and delivers a terrific film. This is my favorite film of his so far.

  

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