The Aronofsky Factor

Hello to both of my fans,
I haven't been posting as often as I had been (if you can call it often) due to workload, but here's a new post that I just had to talk about.

Last night, I saw Black Swan. It is an Aronofsky film. Lennon's ghost, it is an Aronofsky film.

If you don't know what I mean, allow me to explain. Darren Aronofsky is a director known for only directing a few films, but with each film he does, it gets a wider following. He began with a low budget oddball flick about a mathematician called Pi. Because this film was successful (although most people I know haven't ever seen it), Aronofsky became well known in certain circles for being able to turn a profit even with a mildly successful film. However, he also became known for a strange style used when he directed Pi. Aronofsky used numerous jump cuts, POV shots, and unsteady camera filming to create an atmosphere that prevented the audience from looking away.

His next film, and his most well known film, was Requiem for a Dream. With a bigger budget, big name (and good) actors, Aronofsky created a much more advanced film in his style. However, he also did something that made him notorious: He chose to not shy away from anything. I mean anything. Even when his film already had, shall we say, strong content (It's about addiction destroying people's livelihoods), he kept explicit sex scenes in the film (Please understand, it was never meant for the titillation of the audience. He actually used it to deepen the suspense and actually increase the tension of the film). Although this film was only released on a limited release, it really hit a chord with critics.

The critics, despite everything everyone objected to, generally liked his movie, and I agreed with them. Likewise in his film Black Swan, I have to say, he created another great film. By using his style, he created a film that I really enjoy, even with everything disturbing he throws at me. I call this The Aronofsky Factor.

This gives me two thoughts: First, obviously, a director can do amazing things with stuff that can normally ruin a movie. Second, I need to remember that I can't write a movie off for having something I don't generally like unless I take in the context. Really, this does seem to suggest I should consider more things about films before I write them off. Even as I write this, I have some thoughts about some directors I personally dislike that seem to say "Hey, this one movie he did wasn't that bad". (In case you are wondering, two of the the directors in question are Lars von Trier with Dancer in the Dark, and Yorgos Lanthimos with Dogtooth. )

Black Swan had scenes that, actually I have to say, terrified me. Some parts were profoundly disturbing and I consider them nightmare fodder....and I liked the movie. I can't say that I really disliked the nightmarish scenes because they brought me further into the movie. Of course, this film is not for everyone, because every person has their own threshold. Mine is most certainly not yours. Saying this, if you do want a good dose of psychological horror, Black Swan is good for you. If you can handle that and want to step up your game, try watching Requiem for a Dream. Both movies are thought provoking and visually striking, if you can watch them.


As a side note, when I watched The Exorcist, Saw, and Jeepers Creepers, I was not really scared by them. Black Swan had scenes that terrified me. Make of that what you will.

.....And Stick the Landing

Note 1: This is just a thought I had that I jotted down. It's just an opinion, but this is something I noticed about things that keep me interested.

Note 2: I recently saw "The King's Speech", it is an absolutely wonderful movie, and if you haven't seen it, I reccomend it wholeheartedly. It's on my list of best movies right now.


Oftentimes, I see something that has a wonderful premise, but the execution is horrible. Other times, on the opposite side of things, I see a bad or mediocre premise and it has wonderful execution. The question is, which is more important? What happens when we (the audience) see something great fizzle or something weird... somehow blossom. However, to me, the execution can make evern the strangest thing great.
Consider a scary movie, about a clown that hunts down children, and even then strikes again when those same children were all grown up. Well, that sounds scary, but a savvy critic might know that this is the premise for the movie "It". That film is notoriously bad. The concept is great, but there are so many problems, the film just comes across as a really bad drive-in flick. Considering this movie, a good concept with bad execution can ruin a film experience. The opposite, however, is often interesting.
There are some people who take advantage of this. These men have become legends in their own right. David Lynch took odd movies, and executed them so ridiculously, he created a genre around it. There is even a page on TVtropes that is called Crazy Awesome, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Now, consider a premise of a man who goes out to kill predators and murderers as a vigilante. That happens to be the premise of two different things: Death Wish and Dexter. Death wish and its sequels both have mediocre execution, and I bet there are few people who do remember this film. On the other hand, Dexter, with the same premise has superb execution. The characters seem relatively realistic, as does most of the science. The mystery of the villain pervades the story, and the horror is honestly scary. Not only that, the show actually pulled off a twist I didn't see coming. (As a side note, I myself don't really enjoy the subject matter of the show. I find it overly graphic and the the way the show deals with intimacy creeps me out.) I watch the show, and I find myself interested. I want to know what happens next. I want to see the cops get the bad guy. Considering it's a crime show, I personally am astonished I am interested in this genre. No offense to crime shows, but they all seem the same to me.
Execution is key to any sort of project, and I applaud any sort of ability to maintain interest. One day I want to see many more things with great executions. Perhaps the next time, something can have a wonderful premise and great execution.