Insanity or genius?

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2009)

Aronofsky can be called a great many things, but "traditional and usual director" is not one of them. He does an excellent job on this, and it doesn't feel like he made any compromises on this, leading to a film that is not for everyone. That is, undeniably, the way to move towards the medium being art, a form of expression, as opposed to business. This movie can be described as bizarre, but it's never so vague that you can't follow it, and it does have a plot, which develops nicely throughout. I would say that some will find themselves completely disappearing into Cohen's world for about 80 minutes. The cinematography is incredible, and the Snorricam is marvelous. Editing is sharp and spot-on. The music is modern, techno-like, and rather interesting. All of the writing is masterful. The concept is immensely engaging, and this provides food for thought and questions. Every single acting performance is beyond reproach. The DVD features deleted scenes, with the option of hearing Darren's thoughts on them. He and star/script co-author Sean Gullette also have a commentary track each, and they even both speak over the 9 or so minute-long "behind the scenes montage". There's a music video, as well, two trailers and a preview for a graphic novel, and finally, the disc holds notes on the actual enigma. All of them are worth the time. There were no subtitles, however. The language is strong, if not overly frequent. There is disturbing content, the potency of it arguably depending on personal tastes. I recommend this to any fan of anyone involved and/or the genre of psychological thriller. 8/10