Requiem for a Dream (2000) - Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky is most certainly the flavour of the month in the world of directing, and quite right too. Since his Harvard indie-movie days, Aronofsky's astonishing directorial vision has had the habit of mesmerising audiences, not least because he is, in the world of directing at least, still very young. However, unlike so many young pretenders who, after making a cult masterpiece, go into hiding when Hollywood comes a-knocking (Myrick and Sanchez, masterminds behind The Blair Witch Project (1999) is the example which springs to mind) Aronofsky has since proved that he can ply his trade at the highest level. Having recently achieved considerable box office success with films about fighting, and ballet dancing, The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010) respectively, few would deny that Aronofsky is fast becoming one of the great directors of the moment, illustrating a versatility and consistency of which even Scorsese could be envious.

Whilst the image of Aronofsky's now bulging cabinet of awards is a pleasant one, the nihilistic nightmare adaptation of the Selby Jr novel of the same name: Requiem for a Dream, is the vision of a director who must have seen life 'through a glass, darkly'. Requiem takes an extremely disconcerting and cynical glance at the morally vacuous world of drug addiction. We follow Harry, Marion and Tyrone; a trio of whimsical youths, entering the lucrative yet highly dangerous world of drug dealing primarily to fund their own recreational habits, but also in an attempt to drag themselves from the gutter of mundane and listless urban existence. Running parallel to the Trainspotting-esque junkie narrative, a slightly less conventional form of addiction is introduced through the character of Sara Goldfarb, doting yet dull mother to Harry, who takes diet pills in an attempt to fit into that red dress and finally realise a lifelong dream to appear on TV.

Anyone who watches this film holding their breath for a plot twist will be disappointed at the conclusion (and gasping for air!). In fact, there is no real plot to speak of, one is instead forced to endure the steady downfall of each of the characters in their luckless pursuit of both the ultimate high and 'The American Dream'. The plot is extremely flat and predictable, yet ironically it is precisely this that constitutes one of Requiem's greatest strengths; the sense of crippling inevitability and despair that saturates the fabric of the film make the protagonist's fall from grace all the more difficult to watch, because you can see it coming from a mile off. Aronofsky subjects his audience to a ruthlessly sadistic onslaught, there are few who could watch Harry injecting heroin into his gangrenous wound so as not to 'lose the hit' without wincing; and likewise the sight of Sara Goldfarb, emaciated and broken at the film's conclusion, cannot fail to inspire a sense of horrifying hopelessness. Aronofsky seems as intent on punishing his audience as he is on punishing Requiem's hapless protagonists.  It is a hugely intense and emotionally demanding film.

Though Requiem is an emotionally demanding film, one of its major weaknesses is the fact that is not an emotionally engaging one. The cast is solid throughout, and Ellen Burstyn quite rightly got an Academy Award nomination for her engrossing portrayal of Sara Goldfarb, but the scenes of Requiem are so uncompromisingly depressing that one becomes, as with any drug user who takes too much of their chosen poison, resistant to its effects. Concern quickly turns to indifference, and whilst Burstyn does her best to keep the blackly comedic vein alive (pardon the intravenous drug-use pun) the film does run out of steam towards the end. Requiem lacks the touch of humanity, though Aronofsky would go on to redress the emotional balance in the hugely moving Wrestler.

In his relative inexperience, Aronofsky is also guilty of showboating in Requiem. Though the film has grit worthy of Trainspotting, and nihilistic suavity worthy of Donnie Darko, it often goes a little too far in some of its stylistic set pieces. Though the short, sharp, snappy 'hit' montages are effective, they are used far too often. Also, on more than one occasion, the stylistics tend to overwhelm and overshadow the attempts of Aronofsky's actors to create emotionally engaging moments; the scene in which Marion, in her need for Cocaine, puts herself at the mercy of a double-edged-dildo is meant to shock and horrify, but you may feel more inclined to laugh.

Nonetheless, these superficial weaknesses are blasted out of the water by Requiem's technical prowess. The musical score is simply spellbinding, and the main theme music has now infiltrated many other forms of media. The camerawork, too, is perfection, from the searing sun of midday in Brooklyn, to the dark, damp dives that the junkies frequent, the visuals of Requiem are always set at exactly the right pitch. Though slightly choked by Aronofsky's grand vision, the cast is one of Requiem's greatest assets. Harry, played by Jared Leto, (who is now best known for his wailing duties in he band 30 Seconds to Mars) is a potent and visceral character, indeed the whole cast possess an air of exhaustion and emaciation that is difficult to fake, Leto's extremely gaunt physique, for example, would suggest that he made preparations for Requiem not dissimilar to the shocking sacrifices that Christian Bale made for The Machinist, such elements illustrate the degree to which the cast beleived in Aronofsky's deflated dystopia, they succeed in bringing it to life with impressive conviction.

Requiem for a Dream is by no means perfect, the dark subject matter often leads Aronofsky to depths where few care to follow, and his directorial showboating breaks the spell of the film on more than one occasion. That said, Requiem is a hugely thought provoking and visceral piece of cinema, depicting humanity at its most frail and pathetic, crushed by the disillusionment and trauma that make tragedy inevitable. The net result is that the audience is left feeling lost, crushed, depressed. Whilst Requiem for a Dream often feels like a 'bad trip'; as far as cinema goes, this is what they call 'the good stuff'.

Verdict: Powerful, intense sado-cinema. Though a little stunted emotionally, the crushing inevitabililty of the plot drives home the depressing reality of The American Dream with a clarity and conviction few have achieved in cinema. 7/10.

Kick Ass (2010) - Directed by Matthew Vaughn

They are rare and beautiful things, concept films. In recent times there have been some notable examples, Wall-E (2008) and No Country for Old Men (2007) are proof that the pure brilliance of a single idea can lead to considerable box office success. Unfortunately, they are still an extremely rare phenomenon, if they make it past the drawing board they dont usually get past the investors, and if they make it past the investors they often bomb (yes, we are looking at you Norbit (2007)). Nonetheless, Kick Ass made it to the big screen, and for that we should be truly thankful.You can just picture the scene. Matthew Vaughn stands before the board of executives that will ultimately decide the fate of Kick Ass, smiles, and says 'I know it doesnt make alot of sense, but just go with me on this one'. And thank god those fat cats in the suits decided that Vaughn's pedigree as a director and producer, overseeing such cult smashes such as Lock Stock, Layer Cake and the truly magnificent Snatch, gave the Kick Ass concept sufficient clout for it to get the green light.

The film opens with a classic zero-to-hero nerd narrative. Awkward teenager Dave, sick of being invisible to the girls, and being seen only as an easy target for mugging by the boys, decides that enough is enough and by virtue of a green leotard ordered from ebay, Kick Ass is born. Cue the Rocky style training ritual, Dave starts doing sit ups and jumping buildings (well, not quite) and he finally feels like he is leaving behind the curly haired nobody with a masturbation problem. These opening scenes are relatively fun and enjoyable but dreadfully generic and predictable, and we brace ourselves to yawn the familiar 'I know how this will end' yawn. But if you think the film will continue down this track, you are gravely mistaken. Kick Ass' first adventure as a superhero sees him intercept two car thieves with whom his alter-ego Dave has had several run-ins. We of course know that Kick Ass, despite the leotard and the kendo sticks, is still the same nerd that his adversaries have mugged with clockwork regularity and will lose his fight. But when Kick Ass gets beaten within an inch of his life, stabbed in the stomach, then run over, you realise, looking at Dave's bloodied face, that all bets of a comfortable, shticky spiderman spoof are well and truly off.

This gruesome and truly horrific altercation sets the tone for the rest of the film. The opening sequences, one quickly realises, are merely Vaughn's (sadistic, but brilliant) attempts to lull his audience into a false sense of security, only to smash them with a blood-soaked sucker punch. Make no mistake, Kick Ass is a wolf in sheep's clothing, the colourful spandex and nerd comedy make the film's uncompromising penchant for violence all the more staggering. On more than one occasion you find yourself open-mouthed as if to say 'where the hell did that come from!?', and Vaughn's disregard for the conventions of genre, and his evident talent in the fine art of shocking, constitute a good deal of Kick Ass' appeal.

After recovering from his injuries, Kick Ass returns to superhero duties more determined and defiant. Quickly rising to fame, he gains some superhero friends ('Big Daddy'- a textbook cameo by Nicholas Cage and Mindy - the most dangerous 11 year old you are likely to encounter) and some serious enemies, and finds himself a pawn in a game of goodies and baddies that is far bigger than he imagined possible. Vaughn invites his audience to sit back and watch the fallout, and as anyone who has seen Layer Cake would know, there are few who can create thrilling, visceral action quite like him.

The potential, as the film progresses, and as we are introduced to more and more interesting and funny characters, is that Kick Ass becomes a pedestrian in his own superhero narrative. However, Dave's journey from scrawny nerd to the real McCoy is dealt with by actor Aaron Johnson with a surprising lightness of touch. In a film that could all too easily spiral out of control into a series of archetypes and cliche's, he keeps the film firmly rooted in the world of humanity. The subtle sense of humility he maintains throughout the film keeps the audience emotionally engaged as well as completely thrilled. If there is such a thing as 'Total Cinema', Kick Ass comes mighty close.

Vaughn also imports a boat load of British grit into the often sterile and over CGI'd world of comic adaptations. A far cry from the slick dystopias of The Spirit or Sin City, Kick Ass is rough around the edges, and proud. Mindy, the 11 year old Hit-girl who has been the sole source of the critical controversy that has surrounded Kick Ass ever since its release, is central to the movie's shameless affrontery. To hear an 11 year old girl say 'cunt' without a flinch or apology is a surreal experience, and has unsurprisingly raised a few critics' eyebrows. But for those who can get off their moral high-horse and buy into the film's subversive manifesto, Mindy's deeply provocative yet ultimately hilarious character is an absolute pleasure to watch. Indeed, Kick Ass is packed full of exceptional performances, Nicholas Cage stands out for his quirky portrayal of a psychotic doting dad, but there are no real weak links in the cast, again we have Vaughn to thank for getting his actors into the groove and in top form.

In summary, Kick Ass is a film with massive appeal. Gripping, shocking, yet most of all funny, it is a real dark horse that delivers on many more levels than the bright colour palettes, nerdy banter and melodramatic plot would lead you to beleive. Vaughn is in fine form, and behind everything that is good about Kick Ass. Taking the best that horror, action and comedy has to offer, he creates an unconventional twist on the comic-book film, and the concept clearly works.

Verdict: Kick Ass gives the typical comic-book film a firm kick up the ass, it is a gritty, ambiguous and stylish revision of a genre that has grown stagnant with the flood of films attempting to cash in on the comic-book craze. Upon first glance, many would feel that it is not for them. I implore those people to ignore their reservations and watch this film because it delivers on numerous levels. Kick Ass is exceptionally good. 9/10