Noah (Darren Aronofsky, 2014)

A hundred generations after the first men, humanity has spoilt the Earth and God decides to clean the slate by flooding it. Noah (Russel Crowe) receives a vision, which tells him to seek his grandfather Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins) and ensure the survival of all animals for the new world. With the help of giant stone angels, he and his family build an ark.

When they are almost done and the apocalypse is near, they are threatened by king Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone), who wants the ark for himself.

Russell Crowe as Noah

Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) is one of my favorite directors and he finally got the chance to make a Hollywood-scale film, but this is a two-edged sword. On one hand, Noah is a big production with expensive battle-scenes, visual effects and a huge set. On the other hand there are the director’s talent for characters and story. Everyone gets what he wants: the action-fans get their sfx and roaring sound, the studio gets their money and I get Noah’s inner conflict between God and family. Speaking of characters: the many high-class actors play them very believable and I feared for them. The film also contains two beautifully composed high-speed montages, which remind me of Aronofsky’s early work and which I like a lot. Altogether the film is pretty good. At some points it is a little melodramatic and I wouldn’t have needed the battle scenes, but the story gets very tense and interesting towards the end. The success of Noah should be enough to fund the next “real” Aronofsky-film.

TL;DR: The epic story of Noah’s Ark, told by the director of Requiem for a Dream.

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)

The many years of a wrestling career in the 1980s leave Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) tired and broke. He keeps himself above water by working part-time at a supermarket and doing an independent wrestling show every now and then. After one of these shows, Randy suffers a heart attack backstage and is told that he won’t be able to wrestle any more. Trying to gain the upper hand in this downward spiral, he reaches out to his friend, the stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) and he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). It seems to work, but his pride as a performer slowly eats away at him.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Although The Wrestler is a very unpleasant film, I enjoy it every time I watch it. It just won’t lose its intensity even though I know all the scenes and twists. The film has this very rough and direct feel, which doesn’t just apply to the fighting scenes, but also to Randy’s everyday life. Every part of his life has become a fight and the audience fights and suffers at his side. Mickey Rourke, who has a past in the boxing scene gives his incredible career-reviving performance, which in my humble opinion would have deserved the Oscar it was nominated for. And just to be clear: This film has not been made particularly for wrestling fans. In fact, it is a very intense and touching experience far off from the rather shallow sport it originates from.

TL;DR: Intense drama about an old wrestler who struggles for his existence