Vintage Noir with the Hip Hop Twist

Rating: Null/10 (7 January 2004)

PI - Darren Aronofsky's 1ST Feature Film / U.S. 1998 (4 STARS)
November 2003: I truly enjoyed this B&W film - symbolic of Film Noir from the 50's (Touch of Evil and The Trial), but more technically savvy. It is a masterpiece in control, and a director's ability to create mood - in the true spirit of independent cinema style, in display with all it glory (and gratuitousness). . Mise-en-scene: The figure behavior of Max Cohen appealed to me - strange, erratic and inconsistent - it furthered the narrative to establish a man truly on the edge. . While I did not feel personally for Cohen's character, I enjoyed being a voyeur and following his track to see where he would end up. My goal was very narrative driven and I don't think the director's aim was for us to empathize with the character - it was more to get us interested in him -which we do quite acutely. . I did not particularly care for the gangster angle, but I guess it was important to keep the less-artsy crowd hooked on and to drive the narrative forward in a linear fashion. . Cinematography: The mood was built both by the choice of wide angled lenses used at very close distances to distort the images and give the 'crazy world' feel. Camera height is used effectively to convey an impending feeling of something waiting to happen or lurking around the corner. . Sound & Editing: The director's total skill and control on these two stylistic elements is what makes this film an imperfect masterpiece. I so enjoyed the complimenting of the sound bridges to give the impending feeling of foreboding. Yet the sound was hip and a departure from earlier noir works where it created only mood. The editing was totally maverick and the mixing of superimpositions with quick and flash cuts gave a more music-video feel which was fast and slick - thoroughly enjoyable in the end.