Film directors exploring tragedy should make movies about cricket

Darren Aronofsky directed two films about two performers two years apart in 2008 and 2010. The first followed an ageing wrestler as he prepared for an anniversary rematch with his old opponent, the second a ballet dancer who landed the lead role in Swan Lake she had coveted her whole career. They seem worlds apart, but Aronofsky considered The Wrestler and Black Swan to be “companion pieces” – a singular tale of a ballerina who falls in love with a wrestler that eventually split in two. “What was amazing to me was how similar the performers in both these worlds are,” he explained in an interview with Collider. “They both make incredible use of their bodies to express themselves.”

The similarities reflect the signature both of Aronofsky’s filmography and the subgenre his psychological thrillers dominate: that of the obsessed performer. In Black Swan, this role is fulfilled by Nina, the ballerina who struggles to dance the eponymous role as it requires her to adopt a character very unlike herself: the sensual, seductive temptress in stark contrast to her own child-like demeanour. To dance the perfect Swan Queen, she must attain some elusive, indefinable quality naturally possessed by her rival, Lily, and poorly elaborated upon by her mentor whose euphemistic advice reflects the seemingly impossible task before her. “Perfection is not just about control,” he tells her, “it is also about letting go.”

Her counterpart in The Wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson, is struggling to come to terms with retirement forced upon him by a heart attack. Unable to deal with the mundane reality of working in a supermarket, he sacrifices his physical health (and ultimately, it is implied, his life) to return to wrestling one last time, else