A truly great piece of art.

Rating: 10/10 (9 August 2001)

There are five elements that I always look for in a good film. The story, the acting and the direction are the more obvious ones, the other two are the soundtrack and the ending. If all five of these hit the mark for me then I'm happy. Here, not only do all five of these elements hit the mark, they blow the mark away.
Hubert Selby's story is simple, but all the more powerful for it. Aronofsky's visuals are as imaginitive and even more stunning than those seen is his debut, Pi.
Bjork said after acting in Dancer in the Dark that she never wanted to act again as the experience was too distressing; bear this in mind when you watch Ellen Burstyn's utterly convincing performance and you could easily forgive her for wanting to retire! I have to wonder how Julia Roberts won the Oscar over Ellen Burstyn, Julia was good in Erin Brockovich, but Ellen's performance is in a different league. Leto, Connelly and Wayans also give outstanding performances.
As well as fitting the movie perfectly, Clint Mansell's haunting soundtrack could well be the best techno-classical crossover album in the world. And finally, the ending... it's an ending so powerful it makes Taxi Driver look like a walk in the park.
All in all I'd recommend this film to anyone, especially those who fancy a good (metaphorical) kick in the head.