Darren Aronofsky –

The greatest director of his generation?

Part 2 – Requeim for a Dream

There is a grammar in filmmaking. Much in the same way a writer would construct a sentence with a set of grammatical tools (not one of my strong suits), a film director has a set of tools to construct a sequence of shots. Why use a close-up instead of a long shot? Why cut quickly or slowly? Why use a zoom lens to compact action? It goes on and on.

There are reasons for every composition, some are story related, most are necessity based. But going back to films like Citizen Kane and Ikiru I see purpose behind the visuals. Every composition has meaning. It isn’t just designed to “look cool”

Don’t get me wrong. Things looking cool is fucking cool. Zach Snyder, Guy Ritchie, Michael Bay, and many others make things really awesome. Their films are easily entertaining.  It is when film language is taken to the next level and personalized that filmmakers go from good to great. The aformentioned directors might be great, Synder certainly is, but I can’t help but think there is more to the, dare I say, art.

Aronofsky's use of lines and the old "water as the future" metaphor

I recently saw 127 hours and was reminded what that “more” factor is. Danny Boyle knows where and why to put the camera to evoke conscious and subconscious reactions from his audience.

As we move into the next century of filmmaking more and more filmmakers, fueled by the digital age, step forward with an uncanny ability to make things look “cool”, but are they effectively using the tools that Griffith, Welles, Godard, and to some extent, Cassavetes, invented? (If you don’t know who they are look them up)

My answer: I’m not sure. All this might sound overly academic, after all, but my point is Darren Aronofsky is one guy who gets it…big time.

I can’t remember why my brother and I wanted to see Requiem so bad prior to its theatrical release. We had likely been attracted to the controversy surrounding its NC-17 rating and grabbed a copy of the DVD early on in its release. I was only 14 or 15 at the time and had never seen anything like it before. The camera compositions, music, performances, and story seemed so fresh and innovative.

Again, notice Aronofksy's use of lines to establish depth and symmetry.

Of all those things, what stood out most was the camera compositions. Armed with his long time collaborator Matthew Labitique, Aronfosky wanted to use the grammar of film to create a subjective and objective compositions. Doing this he employed many of the similar tactics he used in Pi, but to a degree never seen before.

Back was his “hip-hop” editing, Snorricam, and heat-camera. Hip-hop editing, coined by Aronofsky himself, is employed for extended sequences to put the audience inside the users head.  Here is a quicky example of the hip-hop editing used, the clip is not completely geninue as it has been youtube raped, but you do what you can.

Also used is the aformentioned Snorricam, as when Merion has just sold sex for money and she vomits. The camera is actually suspended from the body. This shot is often used poorly to emulate being drunk. The heat camera was also back when harry’s mother is looking at the fridge, the shot used to emulate the madness and distress of the character.

The famous camera rigs to get the subjective shots.

Another set of techniques reused from Pi was Aronofsky’s habit of slowing down the camera so more frames were captured per second. Therefore, the action was sped up like in the following scene:

Again why does he do it? You guessed it, subjectivity.

But there were also shots that Aronfosky employed for his aim at subjectivity that he hadn’t used in his prior film.

First off, there were four characters in this film, not just one as in Pi. Therefore, Aronfosky employed multiple split screen scenes so he could keep a camera subjectively on his characters at all times. Many would claim this is gimmicky. I don’t thinks so. I think it forced the audience into these peoples worlds and didn’t allow them to look a way. Another great example of this is when Marion and Harry are lying together doing pillow talk. The two halves of the screen contain both characters individually, but the characters are also able to reach into their respective frames.

Another composition, or series of compositions, that stuck out to me were Aronofsky’s traditional use of shot/reverse-shot when Harry’s mother and Harry are discussing why she wants to be on the game show. It is important that the viewer notes how simple the editing and shooting is here. Aronofsky knows that stylistically the camera can sometimes distract from emotional impact. If we’re paying too much attention to what the camera is doing, it can distract from what the characters are feeling. Ellen Burstyn in these scene alone proved she deserved the Oscar that year.

Moreover, the most famous element in this movie is, of course, its soundtrack by Clint Mansell. The song is now a manstay in pop culture and I even recently heard the theme at a bar. If you haven’t heard it, here it is:

Am I spending too much time discussing one film? I don’t think so. I think Requiem is a definitive work of the past decade. It was released NC-17 for the ass-to-ass scene, an event I myself have witnessed in person, so it wasn’t able to really build any steam going into awards season.

Part 3 The Fountain

-Collin