I’ve been working my way slowly through Darren Aronofsky’s films. This is the third I’ve watched, Pi and Requiem for a Dream being the other two.
Its depiction of the experience of high-pressure performance and hierarchical dynamics between performers and their directors is raw and exquisite. Having experienced a taste of this in my own career, I felt deeply connected to this story. But I think it also serves as a commentary on the parts of society that demand machine-like perfection and productivity at the cost of humanity and healthy relationships. I think we can all relate to that.
As the film progresses, Aronofsky begins to abandon realism and distort reality so that we can see and feel exactly what the protagonist, Nina, does. I’ve been loving that style of film making recently. It’s what I loved about Poor Things. I think Aronofsky does it brilliantly in this film and I think Natalie Portman deserved her Oscar for this performance.
