comeback narrative

His films consistently chronicle protagonists clawing their way back from moral and physical ruin, exemplified by Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull and Henry Hill in Goodfellas.

He specializes in narratives of obsessive characters attempting to reclaim lost glory or reinvent themselves, as seen in The Wrestler and Black Swan.

His films explore characters rebuilding identity and agency after trauma or erasure, particularly evident in Poor Things and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.