close to gestault

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2000)

As an example of pure expressionism in film, this movie is miles above any I've seen. Aronofsky puts his viewers so close to his characters' desperation that we cannot escape, though at times the effect is maddening. Even though the theatricality of the expressionistic sequences distorts reality completely, all of the events are believable; the combination makes the story that much more inescapable. This film uses every method the medium affords to show how the characters feel and mixes that with the basic Aristotelean precept of completely fleshed out and well portrayed characters. The acting is wonderful. Try your hardest not to miss this film!