Darren Aronofsky - the forgotten twin of Lars von Trier?
We may all heard of a movie called "Requiem for a dream" or "Black Swan", yet a lot of people don't know they were directed by one person - Darren Aronofsky. How come he is not in one line with great direcors like Allen, Scorsese, Tarantino, Fincher or Nolan? Is the amount of directed movies the main factor?
Genius or just a chaotic mind?
A lot (if not all of them) of Aronofsky's movies are very complex, making you process everything that happened to fully understand the meaning. Sometimes one time is not enough and you have to rewatch it two or three times and still get a little bit confused. Is this a genius move or is he just trying too much? Does the audience wants to leave the cinema not understanding what is going on?
I had a really hard time watching "Pi" (1998), yet "The Fountain" from 2006 was in my opinion a masterpiece. Maybe it was the awesome soundtrack by Clint Mansell that made it so special, great cast (Jackman, Weisz) or just the story. I've heard a lot of voices that his movies are overly complicated and farfetched. What worked in "The Fountain" did not necessary worked in "Noah".
Black Swan was the only chance for an Oscar?
This movie should have gave him an Oscar. After seeing "Black Swan" back in 2010 I thought it is Aronofsky's turn to receive an Oscar, but that didn't happen. As a fan of his work I was sure it won't stop him from delivering great movies to the audience, that didn't happen as well. All we had to this point was "Noah" (one movie in 7 years), highly ranked by critics, not so good by an audience. Does it really means an "ordinary bread-eater" does not understand the vision of this director or is he making them too complex on purpose? Will that change soon?
mother!
The upcoming movie by Aronofsky has a great cast. I can't deny that Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris in one movie sounds really good. Will that be enough to advertise the movie and get a good opening week and the entire box office? mother! is described as a psychological thriller-horror film, and that makes me a little bit concerned, when it comes to crowds in movie theaters and good reviews. The premiere date is set to October 13, 2017. All that's left is to wait then.
If the movie will be as good as a poster, I can see at least another Oscar nomination for Aronofsky.
(The poster reminds me of Ofelia and Frances Conroy, mixed with 19th century wallpapers in palaces.)
Let's give him a chance!
All in all, all of his movies are interesting and intriguing. I can't say they are not visionary or ambitious, they may be just not right for all viewers. If you just want to spend nice time at the cinema after work or hard week, his movies won't be a good choice.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for the upcoming movie by Aronofsky. Let's hope he will release more movies soon, because it is always interesting to see what other's people perspective is, especially when it is so different than yours.
With great casts in all of his movies, interesting ideas and unconventional take to death and live, his name should be soon more recognizable among more viewers, not only in US.