6. Darren Aronofsky
Directed Memorable Performances In: Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), and
The Wrestler (2008) Best of the Best: Natalie Portman in
Black Swan (2010) Highly stylized, unsettling and possessing a completely unique cinematic vision, Darren Aronofsky never fails to shock or draw in his audiences with dark mental break-down dramas. Chronicling downward spirals of insanity and alienation. Never afraid to present the most disturbing in human qualities, his surreal visuals combine with his character's descent into madness and chaos. Interested in ratcheting up the psychological terrors that his characters face, he portrays them coming apart on several levels, mentally, emotionally and physically. His portrayals of humans right on the edge of an abyss never fails to engage and stimulate. The crowning achievement of his tormented characters is Natalie Portman's Nina Sayers in
Black Swan, a seemingly virginal innocent Bally dancer tapped to play the lead character in a high-end production of Swan Lake. Portman plays Nina's decent into darkness with unflinching resolve. Just as the delicate Swan Princess turns into the visceral Black Swan in the play, she turns from a timid dancer to impulsively driven performer in the span of the story. The sense of what we do for "perfection" is uneasily conveyed though both the director's eye and his actor's performance, more than worthy of a spot on any best filmmakers list.