Darren Aronofsky opens up on his creative process, environmental work and his time with Brendan Fraser.
Darren Aronofsky’s cinema has always paid great attention to the human condition, provoking audiences to consider absurd and psychological themes—as well as his passion for the environment. Over a number of brief encounters, and a string of emails, Chris Cotonou speaks to Darren following the release of his highly-anticipated The Whale.
Darren Aronofsky has a surprisingly approachable energy. I say surprising because certain prejudices are built around a filmmaker whose work deals with such dark, absurd, and psychological themes. But on the two occasions we met—the first time in Venice and then later, at a London screening for his film The Whale—he was warm and open about his cinema and in particular his interest in the environment. Darren has always been an artist that uses his films to affect change by having us consider ideas we are otherwise starved of on-screen.
Darren is also producing these stories. When we asked about Alex Pritz’s film The Territory in London, he replied: “It was important for us to show how peoples’ lives can be ruined by bad decisions.” It had just been released by his production company Protozoa, and was the latest in a series of films that looks at the devastating effect humans have on our earth by focusing on Brazil’s rainforests. “This film is really powerful. Hopefully it opens up the conversation to more people out there…I mean, it’s crazy what happened in Brazil,” he adds, with some urgency.
Aronofsky brings the same passion for the stories he produces (most recently The Good Nurse) as those that he directs. His body of work includes Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, mother!, and, of course, The Whale, but he always has his hand in projects that have something important to say, and are always centred on themes that are personal or interesting to him. The Whale explores depression and addiction. The Wrestler looks at the inevitability of age. Noah has a clear environmental message. But they are all connected by Aronofsky’s interest in the human condition.
He is also an avid traveller. As a younger man, he backpacked through Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and was destined for a career in social anthropology (not a typical choice for a young man raised in the concrete jungle of New York) before committing to film at Harvard University. But his desire to tell stories was always the priority. Indeed, he recounted one to us in London: a particularly funny, and hairy, situation in Eastern Europe that we won’t get into here. He also famously spent time with the late Anthony Bourdain on trips to Madagascar and Bhutan for Bourdain’s television show Parts Unknown: “Anthony was a great person,” he tells us, “I think that second one [a mystical adventure in Bhutan] was the better episode. We got it right there.”
Whether producing, directing, or sharing an anecdote before we sit to watch The Whale—his brilliant adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play, with a quietly powerful performance from Brendan Fraser—the storyteller in Aronofsky will not be satiated. But he also doesn’t give too much away. Perhaps that’s the mystery of Darren Aronofsky: an artist who deals in uncertain and uncomfortable parables, but who also tells them with the intention that his audience might uncover something about themselves.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
Your work is often closely examined by audiences and critics for its allegories and messages. How much do you feel that people read too deeply into your films and not just enjoy a story, or is it a priority of your work to have people discuss the allegories and symbolism?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
First and foremost, movies are about entertainment. The only way to get people to watch is to make something that makes you laugh or cry or scares the heck out of you. When we develop our projects, we’re always thinking about what would be fun, interesting, hopeful, and moving both for ourselves and for our hopeful audiences. If we get that done, we are also fascinated by ideas and we try to think how to include things that not only tickle the heart but tickle the brain.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
You’ve worked with incredible actors, from Samantha Morton to Mickey Rourke. Is there a particular type of acting approach that you prefer over another one?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
Every actor is a different human being. It’s my job to get to know every actor and how they work and how they feel comfortable. The most important facet of the relationship between a director and an actor is trust, and that comes through a lot of communication. So we start with that. That’s time spent working on the script or just socialising or taking field trips. Once I get a sense of what makes an actor feel comfortable, I try to create that environment as much as I can.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
Brendan has drawn wide acclaim. Were you prepared for how much of a phenomenon his performance would be?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
I was definitely not prepared. I was excited every day on set working with Brendan because I could tell he was doing really tremendous work. I was not aware how much love was in the world for Brendan. I’m completely thrilled by the excitement of his fans that this movie is out in the world and honoured that I was there to capture it all.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
Do you ever see your body of work so far as part of a bigger picture or in the way Auteurs like Kubrick or Tarantino do? I remember you saying that The Wrestler and Black Swan served as companion pieces.
DARREN ARONOFSKY
When I choose a picture to make, it’s because it’s something I’m passionate about. There’s never a conscious effort of how the films are related. A lot of different people have pointed out patterns between different films. I’m not very conscious of those connections until they’re actually pointed out to me. As in The Whale, I just follow the stories and the characters that inspire me.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
Do you think the theatre experience can be protected? And how do you feel about people streaming your movies on smaller screens?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
The scariest part of home entertainment is that you’re often competing with other screens. Sadly, we’re all addicted to our personal communication devices, but at movie theatres, we usually take a break from our phones. I think that the theatrical experience will always be around. People love going to the movies and watching films together. It’s a great way to get out of the house, it’s a great date, and it’s a great experience. It will continue to be difficult to get all your movies in the theatre and it may get more selective, but there’s also so many new ways to distribute your movies. If I was a young storyteller trying to make a movie now, there’s just so many more options of how I can get it out into the world and that’s an exciting prospect.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
You are currently producing films that raise awareness about environmental issues. Have you always had these values or was there a particular moment in your life that changed the way you realised how our environment was under threat?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
Growing up in Brooklyn, I always had a passion to get out of the concrete jungle. When I was 16, I discovered an organisation called the School for Field Studies based out of Salem, Massachusetts, that took students and trained them to be environmentalists and ecologists. I was lucky enough to travel with them and spend the summer in Kenya and then the following summer in Prince William Sound, where I was trained as a field biologist.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
What’s the biggest difference about being on the other side as a producer and how has it affected the way you see filmmaking and filmmakers?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
I love producing. It’s very different from directing but also creative and fun. I like to work with directors that inspire me and help them bring their visions to light [like Eliza McNitt, Tobias Lindholm and Alex Pritz.]
A RABBIT’S FOOT
If you were not a director, what do you feel like you would have done instead?
DARREN ARONOFSKY
No matter what, I would be some type of storyteller. I was always fascinated by storytellers. I chose filmmaking because it seemed like the most exciting way to tell stories when I was coming of age. But if I ever lost the passion to tell stories, I would join the most noble of professions: teaching.
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