Lucid, avant-garde and brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (28 August 2007)

I expected this film, permeated with the sense of human downfall through means of legal and illegal substances and methods, to be more in-your-face, but no. Instead, this film is heart-felt, warm and lucid, at the same time as it's living Hell. The direction is radiant with audacity and calm; there's nothing here to indicate that director Darren Aronovsky is trying too hard or, indeed, too little. The absolutely brilliant soundtrack (yet again delivered by Aronovsky's long-time cohort Clint Mansell, this time with The Kronos Quartet) delivers a massive backdrop to the unpredictable scenery. Avant-garde quick clips between iconographic imagery are used to punctuate movements in time (e.g. person getting high on drug). The acting is acute and good. This is like a story you want to end, but when it has, you keep it in your heard and mind forever. Please, see this.