Mesmerizing!

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2013)

This is an exquisitely beautiful, mesmerizing movie that just gets better every time I see it. One of those rare films transcend "movie" and are best described as an "experience".
Some viewers apparently found it difficult to absorb, to me it was much the opposite, drawing me in and immersing me in the storytelling and hypnotic soundtrack. Sadly, it seems to have gone over the head of most critics.
Smartly bridging between spirituality and science fiction without getting caught in the silliness of fantasy or trappings of religion, the tone is always somber and the non-digital, organic special effects are appropriately warm, earthy, and subdued.
The Kronos Quartet soundtrack is equally masterful, and the Clint Mansell piano solo through the end credits - accompanied by a stylized depiction of the universe forming after the big bang - is nothing short of ethereal.
It was apparently conceived as a big-budget epic before the studios axed the project. Aronofsky retooled it into an intimate, solemn masterpiece and it is now utterly impossible to imagine it in any other form.
This is definitely not a movie for everyone, but if it's up your alley, it may haunt you for life.