Darren Aronofsky has more or less become a cinematic fixture within the last decade. The writer/director is an intense filmmaker whose stories are as expansive as his style; an Aronofsky spectrum. Cinephiles and filmgoers alike are voicing their reactions for his latest film, “mother!” and that reception is basically a binary explosion of opinion on social media. You either adore it or detest it, or are just completely baffled by what Aronofsky has put on screen. One trend of the film, however, remains constant. Beyond the guise of his variance, Aronofsky’s films seem to have one thematic element in common: obsession.
In a video essay from The Discarded Image, a compilation of Aronofsky films is examined beyond their aesthetic and stylistic elements. The pictures “Pi,” “The Fountain,” “The Wrestler,” “Requiem for a Dream,” and “Black Swan,” though imagery based and narratively different, all share the commonality of the obsessive nature at the root of Aronofsky’s filmography. The video essay alludes to a sense of emotional detachment in his films. These combative elements work harmoniously in the worlds of chaos and distortion that are often offered.
Examining each film delicately, The Discarded Image understands the lens with which Aronofsky explores obsession. Via “Pi” audiences are thrust into the chaotic world of a mathematician who is looking to find order. In Aronofsky’s extremely controlled and elegant, “The Fountain,” a husband searches for a way to cheat death, while losing his last moments with his wife. And in “The Wrestler,” Mickey Rourke‘s Randy chooses to continue pursuing wrestling and its physical agony rather than confront the emotional relationship pains in his life.
While the video essay goes into more depth discussing these accounts in narrative form, it is important to note the varying styles of the films that still hold the same undertones. “The Fountain” is an extremely stylized film that contorts time and space and creates varying vignettes, interweaving into the main plot, while “The Wrestler” has a hyper-realistic approach with docudrama-like camera work. Dedicated audiences are still registering their reactions for Aronofsky’s latest, deeply-polarizing film, “mother!” How has the director explored the endless avenue of obsession with his new controversial madhouse? Weigh in because we know you have thoughts on “mother!” and possibly how it retroactively impacts your relationship with Aronofsky’s previous films.
