Flashes

Author(s): Tony
Location: Pittsburgh

“Flashes"

Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Written by Darren Aronofsky
Produced by Guillermo del Toro
Music by James Newton Howard

Principal Cast:

Edward Norton as Eric Blanchard
Maggie Gyllenhaal as the Nurse/Mare
Gena Rowlands as The Mother/The Queen
Aaron Eckhart as The Doctor
Gary Oldman as Text
David Eigenberg as Kevin

Tagline: "The ultimate battle between the mind and soul"

Synopsis: An empty theater was the citing of highly known artist Eric Blanchard about tofinish up his next and last piece of art in which he entitled "Flashes". Blanchard wasn't sure why he painted this painting, but one thing he was sure of was on this day he would rid himself from the world. Shortly after knowing his mother OD'd on morphine, (narrated by Ed
Norton) Eric in a desperate state of mind questioned all humanity, the bible, casually comparing himself to rats, feeling as if he's at the bottom of the food chain, which would only be appropriate since later that night, in an empty, dark room on his mother's sheetless bed, Eric would OD on rat poison, as he begins to lose consciousness.

But that was only the beginning. His suicide attempt had failed, and now Eric is trapped in between the mix of reality, and a dark coma. Eric is now lost within himself. He travels through his consciousness as we Eric tumbling through his memories, his life. It is then when his art companion Kevin walks in the room and notices the body layed out on the bed. At this time the Doctor and his assistants make way into the room. As Eric lays motionless in a cold deserted area with only a railroad track in site, he see's the images of the flashes of light coming from the ambulance, the confident, soothing sound of the Doctor trying to make contact, as the train comes along. Eric has the choice of going further into the coma, or dying.

At this time Eric is fully into his coma, as he travels onto the train and driftly falls asleep, where he enters his dream. Now trapped in a old submarine, only to hear other abandoned submarines and airplanes crash around him, Eric is trapped, much like his mindless body who is now wired up in a hospital bed. He can hear muted voices systematically like couple of minutes, but they dont seem to be coming from anywhere, until he awakens from his coma, but only for seconds. He awakes from his dream, as a man appears in front of him on the train, claiming his name was Text.

As the story continues, and the train stops, Eric is welcomed in a whole new world, where giants and demons rome and is captained by a Queen. Text introduces the Eric to the Queen, while feeling mixed vibes towards one another, the Queen grows an animosity towards Eric. Meanwhile, the nurse has taken care of Eric for several months now, although never hearing his voice or having no recollection of this man, she grows an odd attachment to the man that she can't explain, never letting him leave her site, she knows she is destined to save this man, if only he'd wake up. The story progresses when Eric has a run in with a woman in the new world, Mare, but in this world, love and emotion cannot exist. Months go by as the two bond a great relationship, however during this time Eric is having dreams of the life he once had. He was alone, lost in his artwork and couldn't make time for the rest of the world around him. This begins to worry Mare, as the two decide to ride the train back as Eric tries to reverse his tracks to where he once was in life, only to take Mare with him. This enrages the Queen, as she decides to take evil action by to eliminate the two.

Eric and Mare are trapped in the hands of the Queen, tied up and hoisted in the air by thousands of spiders. The Queen injects a cold substance in the veins of the two as the two scream in agony, and Eric awakes from his coma, only to see his true love in front of his eyes, the Nurse. The story takes place 2 years later as the Nurse and Eric look to spend the rest of their lives together. However, Eric begins to have horrible nightmares, from which start in that empty theater, the nightmares remind Eric of what he once was as the Queen haunts them, as he begins to form a distrust towards the Nurse. Eric is now as confused and depressed as he's ever been, he knows the only way to be with Mare again is to die. The nightmares raise questions in Erics mind, is this reality? Is he in the coma? Or is this all one big dream? Where will he awaken if it is? This draws Eric to become more depraved than he has ever been, as he decided the only way to know is to end his life again, he does so by jumping off a bridge, landing on the hard concrete, it was the last thought Eric would ever have.

What the press would say:

A film like this only comes around once and a great while, one that will ask the question is the human mind capable of taking this image, and making an epic of it? The answer is yes, and that mind comes from the witty, yet horribly disturbing noggin of Darren Aronofsky. "Flashes" is the story of a thoroughly depressed artist named Eric Blanchard. What can be said about this script is it's highly intellectual, much like Aronofsky's past work. We take an in-depth look at the troubled character at the beginning of the film and shortly welcomed into the world of Aronofsky. Here throughout the film are obvious hidden messages throughout this remarkable script. The rat poison running through Blanchards veins can easily be compared to Erics continuous tumbling through memory after memory. The metaphor of the rail yard is that he has to make the decision whether to travel further down the rabbit hole or die. The abandoned track and environment is saying that the connection between body and mind was lost, foreshadowing an awakening to come, which in turn leads to the final scene, the bridge scene, as we see a series of flashes and memories build up to the slow motion jump off the bridge. The metaphor of the railyard is that he has to make the decision whether to travel further down the rabbit hole or die. Next scene is the submarine scene, a dream sequence, which ironically every dream sequence has some sort of reality attached to it, rather than the fantasy aspect. Aronofsky has a beautiful, yet dark and chilling scenery with heavy storm features and the sounds of crashing and destruction, perhaps a hint of the destruction our world has overcame?

Apart from Aronofsky's brilliant portrayal of fantasy, a lot of the credit can be given to the man who carried all this weight and stress on his shoulders, Edward Norton. The first sounds of the film we hear Nortons voice as we enter the theater. Nortons narrating is so surreal that you get chills down your spine knowing what is to come in the rest of the film, and Nortons acting. We also get some narrating in the last scene that seems a bit more relaxing, but we know the end result will be just as worse as the first time. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gena Rowlands carry the supporting roles and have their fair share of hidden messages towards their roles. We are trusted at the beginning that the death of Blanchards mother played a big cause in the first suicide, as the Queen is played by the same actress, but is there for the same purpose, to make Eric meet his demise. And although the role of the Nurse is sweet and cunning played by Gyllenhaal, Mare obviously leaves a bigger impact on Eric, perhaps because Mare is only an illusion, a fantasy of what Eric really wants, yet he's delayed and let down after the years spent with the Nurse. Whichever character it is, Gyllenhaal gives us her best performance of her career. Gyllenhaal's break out scene is with Norton near the end where the two have a heated conversation on the night before Eric commits suicide, her anger and rage only encourages Eric further.

I think you know what you were expecting when you went to see this film. It is by all means not the film to take with the kids, nor the girlfriend. Unlike most movies, this is a film you need to see for yourself to believe it even exists, and if your mind is capable enough to get through journey, give yourself a pat on the back.

Possible Nominations:

Best Picture - Guillermo del Toro and Darren Aronofsky
Best Director - Darren Aronofsky
Best Actor in Leading Role - Edward Norton
Best Actress in Supporting Role - Maggie Gyllenhaal
Best Actress in Supporting Role - Gena Rowlands
Best Original Screenplay - Darren Aronofsky
Best Art Direction
Best Film Editing
Best Visual Effects