Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky's fondness for stark imagery and frenzied, self-destructive characters might make him an odd choice direct a commercial for Revlon's line of plumping mascara, but after seeing the new ad (which features Jessica Biel and Pharrell, who also thinks), we have to say, it's a better use of the filmmaker's talent than that movie about Wolverine becoming a samurai, which he mercifully dropped out of earlier this year.

Indie Wire sniffed that there's "nothing particularly Aronofsky-esque except for perhaps the multiple mirrors shot" in the ad, but we disagree. Some of the visual echoes we picked out almost immediately in the commercial, which was first leaked to The Hollywood Reporter.

The long hallway shots

Jennifer Connelly in Requiem For A Dream

Pharrell's entrance in the Revlon ad

Those multiple mirrors

Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Jessica Biel's boudoir.

The eyes!

The theatrical poster for Requiem For A Dream

The Black Swan poster

Biel's Revlon moment

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at rgustini at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Ray Gustini