Before Requiem, Aronofsky made this grimy 25-minute slacker fever dream with Lucy Liu.
Darren Aronofsky’s AFI short opens with angry slacker Dave sitting in a dreary, empty junkyard. Dave stares into space, sips beer, and beats the hell out of a cracked guitar. We quickly realize the emptiness of the dump parallels the emptiness of Dave’s life which consists of smoking weed, staring at television screens and watching school children. Dave’s friend Pete is shortly introduced, along with their friend, Ari, who despite calling her pals losers, doesn’t seem to accomplishing much herself. These three are going nowhere fast. They’re the amoebas of life… protozoa….
Direction
Aronofsky already knows how to make ugliness hypnotic.
Cinematography
Junkyard as character — every rusted frame screams hopelessness.
Acting
Lucy Liu outshines everyone in her brief, cutting appearance.
Director
Darren Aronofsky
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Aronofsky's thesis film at AFI; he later said it taught him that 'suffering is cinematic.'
Made during the brief moment when 'slacker' films turned self-loathing instead of celebratory — right before Clerks made loserdom look fun.
US
