The ugly signet goes on her journey...

Rating: 7/10 (1 January 2012)

I'm not normally keen on melodramas, and this was definitely one of those... but, to be fair, the ending tied together the more over-the-top moments pretty well.
Ultimately I enjoyed it, but I definitely wouldn't herald it as some kind of masterful psychological drama. The big scenes spin too frequently into hysteria to be effectively chilling, for me. It's hardly subtle, but it does work well if high-camp and grandiosity is what you're after.
What it does do is confirm that Aronofsky is always willing to take risks and do interesting things with the projects he chooses to make. Like the film itself, he's never dull, but he's not always classy, either. At least he can't be easily pigeonholed (beyond his consistent work in the independent sector, that is)