Matthew Reine
Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah”, a prolific retelling of the classic bible tale of Noah’s Ark hits theaters this Friday but the man’s entire filmography is worth observing since each one is riveting in their own unique way. So pull up a chair and take a tour with me through the films of one of my favorite modern day directors, Darren Aronofsky.
Aronofsky, a Brooklyn native, obtained his masters in filmmaking from the AFI Conservatory in 1992 and went on to release his first feature film later that decade.
Pi (1998)
His debut, “Pi”, was released in 1998. The super-low budgeted picture was shot in black-and-white and was financed entirely by donations from his family. Shot with a mere $60,000, the film made over $3 million, more than five times its budget.
The story focuses on Max, a man who’s obsessed with numbers that tries to explain everything in life through mathematical equations. An addition that slowly leads to his downfall. It was an interesting film that makes you think intently until the very last scene.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
With a little more clout in the film industry, Aronofsky followed up the surprise success of “Pi” with one of my all-time favorite films, “Requiem for a Dream”. This heart wrenching drama portrays the lives of four Brooklyn residents that are ruined by drug use. It stars recent Academy Award winner Jared Leto as a heroin addict attempting to raise money by selling smack to try to make a better life for him, his junkie friend, played by Marlon Wayans in a breakthrough role, and his girlfriend, played by Jennifer Connelly, who aspires to be in the fashion industry. Leto’s mother is played by Ellen Burstyn, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role, whose body and soul are broken down by different sets of pills in an attempt to lose weight for an alleged television appearance that isn’t what she thinks it is. There are many explicit shots of drug use as well as hospital treatment and sexual activity.
This is probably my favorite of Aronofsky’s films. To this day, it might be the most depressing movie I’ve ever seen. The haunting soundtrack compliments every scene perfectly and just watching these individuals with big aspirations spiral into a coma of addiction with dire results is just crippling. I remember watching it for the first time. I was a junior in high school and was flipping through channels one night and caught this in the middle on a scene with Leto and Connelly. Until this point, I’ve only seen Leto in the 90’s series, “My So-Called Life” so he was typecast as a pretty boy sex symbol but what I saw out of him here blew me away. I watched the rest of the film and wondered what the hell I just viewed. I then found out that my older sister actually owned the film on VHS (remember those?) so I watched it maybe a dozen times after that. Truly a film that had a deep impact on me.
The Fountain (2006)
After the critical acclaim of Requiem, Aronofsky awaited production on his third film, “The Fountain”. Originally set to star Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the project was soon abandoned but was brought back with a new budget and new stars. Now with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz on-board, this film tells the story of a romance which spans three different periods in history: millions of years in the past, present day, and deep into the future. Elements of history and sci-fi add an inspiring touch to this ambitious tale of love and death.
This was the only Aronofsky film to actually not make any money at the box office as it only grossed $15 million on a $35 million budget. A lot of people gloss over this one while analyzing Aronofsky’s filmography since its release was mostly quiet and not as well received as “Requiem for a Dream” but I believe it can hold its own with his very best.
I quite liked “The Fountain”. The story was very gripping and the visuals and cinematography as top notch. The soundtrack was also reminiscent of “Requiem” which also helps.
The Wrestler (2008)
The director would soon find his biggest success until now with a movie about an subject most reputable filmmakers wouldn’t touch: professional wrestling. For “The Wrestler”, Aronofsky told the story on a down-on-his-luck professional wrestler far removed from his glory days who can’t seem to walk away from the ring no matter what it does to his health and personal life. Nicolas Cage was originally attached to star as the protagonist, Randy “The Ram” Robinson, and even attended independent wrestling events to prepare for the role but backed out due to a scheduling conflict. Mickey Rourke stepped in afterward to star. To create authenticity, Aronofsky filmed scenes in front of actual crowds during pro wrestling shows in premiere independent companies throughout the American east coast such as Ring of Honor and Combat Zone Wrestling. The film featured small roles by many professional wrestlers including former WCW star, Ernest Miller, and current WWE superstar, R-Truth.
Mickey Rourke gave the greatest performance of his career and while he won the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Leading Actor, he failed to win the Academy Award, losing out to Sean Penn for his performance in “Milk”. Many theorized that Mickey was a shoe-in but lost because he taped an interview for Access Hollywood promoting a future showdown with WWE’s Chris Jericho. The Academy not wanting to be associated with WWE, decided to not give the nod to Mickey. Rourke would go on to appear at WWE’s flagship pay-per-view, Wrestlemania, in 2009.
The Wrestler is my favorite Aronofsky film behind Requiem. As a huge fan of filmmaking and professional wrestling, I couldn’t have asked for a better film. I went out of my way to see this opening weekend during a snowstorm and have no regrets doing so. The almighty Bruce Springsteen even recorded an original track for the film which sums up the picture perfectly:
Black Swan (2010)
Things turned suspenseful in “Black Swan”. In this psychological horror flick, Natalie Portman plays a disillusioned ballet dancer who is consumed by the world of performance art. As she slowly loses her sanity, she stops at nothing to remain Queen at her profession when she fears that her spot will be replaced by another beautiful women of equal talent, played by Mila Kunis. The suspense in this one is terrifying. I don’t usually jump in my seat during horror films and such but there were quite a few scenes in this one that made me do just that. Portman is terrific in her role of the white swan slowing turning to the dark side becoming the black swan. Kunis is wonderful as well and both ladies even share a steamy love scene. French actor Vincent Cassel plays the role of a seductive ballet director to perfection as I knew he would after seeing his light up the screen in the 2007 Viggo Mortensen film, “Eastern Promises”.
Aronofsky finally received his first Oscar nod for Best Director for this film and Portman herself able to nab the Oscar for Best Leading Actress for her amazing performance. It’s funny because I always used to confuse Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder (who appears in the film as well) so it put things into perspective when they appeared on screen here together. With a budget of $13 million, the film grossed over $300 million worldwide and is Aronofsky’s most financially successful picture.
Let’s hope “Noah” is just as amazing!
