Preparing for a Darren Aronofsky feature is sort of like preparing for a break up or a funeral. That’s not to say that every last Aronofsky tale is a saga of desolation or exhausting melancholy, but when you look at the man’s filmography, one of the common elements is a darkness that permeates. The difference, though, between his earlier works (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) and his more recent (The Fountain, The Wrestler), is a respect for subtlety. In Requiem, Aronofsky thrust the grotesque into the faces of his audience with an almost mean-spirited bravado. It’s a film that, despite its high quality, is simply too awful for repeated viewings. Lately though, Aronofsky has coupled that signature bleakness with a real human beauty. He has found a balance in his method, and with his last three films, The Fountain, The Wrestler and now Black Swan, he has shown the kind of forward momentum that ensures real longevity.
Peter Wertz
Wertz of Wisdom 