In both Pi and Requiem, Aronofsky repeatedly employs certain editing techniques. The use of
these techniques is of central importance in understanding Aronofsky’s work. The frequent use of jump cuts in Requiem,
for example, lends the film a unique feel. When Sara Goldfarb is reading her diet book, Aronofsky does not allow the reader
to absorb the text in the traditional left to right, top to bottom method, but rather jumps around on the page, and from page
to page. This non-linear approach to editing makes clear for the viewer what, exactly, is so upsetting to Sara about the book
faster and with more impact than simply having the camera show a whole page, or even a section of text, and letting the
viewer read. Her subsequent breakfast is a good second example. Instead of showing Sara eating the egg, the grapefruit and
drinking the coffee, he utilizes a jump cut paired with a sound effect, and in doing heightens our sense of her
dissatisfaction.
Those jump cuts in Requiem are smaller versions of an editing technique that is classic Aronofsky: the
"hip-hop montage." Aronofsky uses these sequences, a series of edits of quick extreme close-up shots accompanied by
exaggerated sounds in Pi and more extensively in Requiem for a Dream. These short segments are fun to watch,
and communicate the total release associated with the satisfaction of addiction, weather that addiction be heroin, pain
killers, diet pills, junk food or even the fantasy world of TV. Aronofsky generally uses these montages to depict drug use,
but in accord with Requiem’s overall theme of addiction, they are increasingly used to depict any obsessive act: for
example, Max pressing enter on Euclid, Sara checking her mail, or cleaning the house.
The "hip-hop montage" is a new phenomenon in cinema, and unfortunately very little information of any merit
exists on the internet or in print. In this respect, as with many others, Aronofsky is truly at the forefront of cinematic
exploration.
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