Darren Aronofski has produced a real crowd splitter in this dark and mystifying parable of a woman's descent into ...... I don't know what, but which you sort of like anyway. The film leaves more questions than answers even when you have sorted the basic idea out in your head, and almost demands a second (guilty) viewing. The tension racks up perfectly for the first half of the film and then threatens to tip into over-the-top country ...... but not in a way that spoils the film. Is it art-house, is it horror, is it maybe even comedy of sorts - you just can't sort it out. Jennifer Lawrence is stunning (of course) and Javier Bardem is absolutely compelling as the poet caught in a trap of self-obsessed writer's block.
I came away wondering if I'd seen a film made as a metaphor for the destructive effect of creativity on the satellites of genius, but a quick review of the Wikipedia entry for the film said there was more going on than that (don't read anything until you have seen the film) even to the point that there are clues to the films interpretation in the final credits of the film and in the naming and casing of their names in the films title and end credits.
Is the film genius, or is it crap: I haven't the faintest idea. See it and decide for yourself!
