In the last 12 years, Darren Aronofsky has easily become one of the most interesting filmmakers to watch. At 41 years of age, the man has crafted four extremely diverse films…and the fact that the man is poised to make a much welcomed foray into our beloved genre…well, we couldn’t be more excited. However, as wide a range as Aronofsky’s films have covered, a consistent through-line is evident in each. Call it a theme, a tenor, a stylistic staple of the man’s work, whatever…there’s always a level of palpable unease in his stories. If not they’re not flat out frightening, there’s no question Aronofsky usually incorporates a certain amount of unease – be it visually or tonally – throughout his films. BLACK SWAN, his new psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kulis and Vincent Cassel, should take that trend to new heights. So, to honor the release of the dude’s fifth feature, we’re taking a look at some of the ten finest moments to be found in the films of Darren Aronofsky!
WARNING: MINOR TO MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!
#10. Max Cohen Explaining Fibonacci Sequence to Hasidic Jew – PI (1998)
In PI, Aronofsky’s highly imaginative shoe-string debut – about the fractured, schizoid mind of a lonely mathematician predicting stock market patterns – there’s one scene that always stands out to me, no matter how long the interim between actually watching the film. The scenes takes place in a coffee shop, where a genial Hasidic Jew named Lenny enters and immediately recognizes Max (Sean Gullette). Upon sussing what Max does for a living, an infinitely watchable (and listenable) conversation takes place. As Lenny explains deeply rooted in numerical code the Torah is, Max retorts with knowledge of the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio. What’s interesting here is how we temporarily step outside Max’s maddened mind and see how he interacts with others. An entertaining, educational and highly memorable moment.
#9. Randy “The Ram’s” Match with Necro Butcher – THE WRESTLER (2008)
As an 80s child who fervently watched the Worldwide Wrestling Federation, how the hell could I ever omit one of the more nostalgic, not to mention brutal and barbarous, parts in Aronofsky’s docu-style drama THE WRESTLER? I couldn’t…so I shan’t. In one of The Ram’s more esteemed comeback bouts, we see the roided-up “broken down piece of meat” square off with Necro Butcher, a gigantic, bearded man in overalls never to be trifled with. Well, unless you’re Ram…who resorts to slicing his forehead with a razor blade in order sell the ass whipping all the more. Grittily shot with 16mm, Aronofsky puts you right in the ring with the Ram…and as emotionally battered as we’ve seen him reveal to be early on, we now see what extreme physical torment the man subjects himself to in order to please a crowd. Even taking abuse, The Ram can give strangers what he can’t give the closest people to him.
#8. Max Cohen Finds the Number 216 – PI (1998)
As far as visceral terror is concerned, the sequence toward the end of Aronofsky’s searing, kinetic feature debut – PI – probably ranks as high as #2 on our list (hint, Maid Marion takes the cake). With very little dialogue, grating synth-sounds and a brooding atmosphere…this is the final undoing of Max Cohen…manic mathematician extraordinaire. In a mad-dash of exhaustion, paranoia and mental imbalance, Max has reached his width’s end. He hears the lustful refrain of his neighbors echoing through his brain, chanting his own chorus of “Fuck You, Fuck You” while jamming some kind of air gun up to a (real or imaginary) growth on the side his head. The way Aronofsky comports the scene, the sounds he uses, the flickering light work, the stark angles…visually speaking, it’s really the closest thing to a horror movie on our list. The scene concludes with a fade to white as Max discovers the number 314 in the middle of his 216 digit number.
#7. Tom Creo Doing Tai Chi Across a Starry Background – THE FOUNTAIN (2006)
Alright, so this is really more of a shot I greatly admire than an actual scene or sequence of events…but it’s one I often think about for some reason. It’s probably a testament to Aronofsky’s visual panache and the staying power therein. Anyway, the shot in question takes place in the first half hour of Aronofsky’s iniquitously underrated THE FOUNTAIN, and arrives in the deep-space-future triangle of the narrative. When Hugh Jackman’s Tom Creo is early introduced, we see the motherfucker bustin’ some slow-mo Tai Chi, in silhouette, against a starry backdrop. Mystical, hypnotic, ethereal, just downright cool…I’ve never really heard a satisfactory take on why this shot exists in the movie. Oh wait, the shot falls under the DVD chapter title “The Last Man” (or is at least set to the Clint Mansell song of the same name) and wouldn’t you know it, one of the meanings of Tai Chi translates to “Ultimate.” Booya!
#6. Marion’s Double Dildo Scene – REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000)
Buy REQUIEM FOR A DREAM on DVD here
As if Keith David playing a sleazed-off dope peddler isn’t unsettling enough, the measures Aronofsky takes to make Jennifer Connelly utterly revolting is quite a coup. We all know the set-up. In the manic final reel of Aronofsky’s REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, how low a person will go in order to feed their addiction has never been more foul and repugnant than what Connelly’s character endures. Namely, a seedy girl-on-girl exhibition in front of dozens of horned-out pervs, where Connelly’s Marion is reduced to trading nasty dildo pumps with another broad. You remember it…on her knees, hoisted on a table as if a sporting event, the sweaty, unflattering lighting Connelly is under…the look of humility and degradation etched on her face as she’s become nothing more than an objectified sex slave…that shite is so well done I almost kicked drugs on the spot!
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!
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