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.
