POV: Expectations

So I'm seeing The Wrestler today and I'm pretty damned excited. I am a big fan of Darren Aronofsky and I was a big fan of Mickey Rourke when I was younger. Angel Heart (1987) still kicks ass. After all of the positive press and talk of the Rourke comeback, I'm worried that the film will let me down. This made me think of the all powerful expectation game.

What can a person do to curb expectations and go into a film with nothing but a clean slate so a film can be viewed with perfect objectivity? Well in my case, not a damn thing. Since I am so obsessed with learning about upcoming films, I find it impossible not to read articles or watch trailers. All of this information makes it impossible not to have a certain opinion before the lights go down and the flicker starts up.

There have been a few times where I get the benefit of going in blind. Amores Perros (2000) opened at a theater near me and I new nothing about it at the time. This was before all the hype and my area just happened to be one of the limited runs for Academy consideration. It was a revelation, I couldn't stop talking about it for weeks. But this is a rareity. Most of the time I know who's in it, who's directing it, or what it's about. Then, like anybody, I have a preconceived notion of what to expect and it can cloud my enjoyment.

So what can a person do? Just try to remain open to what is about to unfold on the screen. That there is someone who is telling a story and an audience just need to pay attention. It's not about being told a story that we want, but what they want to say. Then judge it by how successfully they told it. It's not much to ask, but a lot harder to do then we may think.

So tomorrow I'm just going to try and stay clam and open minded. Maybe it'll be more than I expect, maybe less, but it'll still be a thrill to see the latest Aronofsky film and see if Rourke is in the preformance of his career.