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BLACK SWAN
(directed by Darren Aronofsky, 2010)
Black Swan is one of the best films that has come out in YEARS. Although it gets a little out of control at the very end of the movie, being out of control was totally the point. The cinematography is fresh and darkly beautiful in its lush overabudance of blacks, greys and whites. The acting is perfect. The story is engaging and rich and potent. The overall effect is one of genius and power. A twisted tale of a neurotic mother and her daughter who's driven to perfection, I was reminded of Brian De Palma's Carrie. I think this is one of the most substantial movies to have come out in a long time. The female curse of striving to work sexiness, purity, sluttiness, sanity and absolute beauty is examined here, from all its ups and downs, culminating in a creation that is timeless and sincere.
Natalie Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a young ballet dancer who dreams of being The Swan Queen in Swan Lake. To be The Swan Queen, you must embrace the good and bad sides of the Queen - the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina is a pro at being the White Swan -- thanks to her years of always working towards perfection, aided by her destructive home life given in large part to her mother, a failure in the eyes of the world. However, being the Good Girl has severely contained and restricted Nina's dark side -- but it's there. An extreme white has to have an extreme black. When she goes to see the director about landing the part of The Swan Queen, he tries to seduce her with a kiss - she bites him. She refuses his kiss of death and lands the role of The Swan Queen.
The rest of the movie is about her work as she prepares to become the perfect Black Swan. This requires a lot of deterioration of her sanity and the persona she's carried with her for probably all of her life. She becomes angrier, she hallucinates, she hangs out with the bad girl and even has a lesbian sex scene (straight guys, take note.) She is preparing for her role, whether she realizes it or not.
Darren Aronofsky, who also directed The Fountain, which was a mind blowing tour de force, is a grade A mastermind of motion pictures. Black Swan deserved the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards this year. I still haven't seen The King's Speech, but I'm sure it can't beat this. Don't even try to waste your time persuading me. I'll make my judgement later when I've seen it.
Winona Ryder has a small role in this movie, which surprised me. She is the former Swan Queen. She was perfectly cast. Her age and her own private dark history allowed her to fit into what she was here so well. Natalie Portman is not someone I've cared much for as an actress before, but she has finally found a role she was meant to be in and her Academy Award for Best Actress was deserved.
Do see Black Swan.
(directed by Darren Aronofsky, 2010)
Black Swan is one of the best films that has come out in YEARS. Although it gets a little out of control at the very end of the movie, being out of control was totally the point. The cinematography is fresh and darkly beautiful in its lush overabudance of blacks, greys and whites. The acting is perfect. The story is engaging and rich and potent. The overall effect is one of genius and power. A twisted tale of a neurotic mother and her daughter who's driven to perfection, I was reminded of Brian De Palma's Carrie. I think this is one of the most substantial movies to have come out in a long time. The female curse of striving to work sexiness, purity, sluttiness, sanity and absolute beauty is examined here, from all its ups and downs, culminating in a creation that is timeless and sincere.
Natalie Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a young ballet dancer who dreams of being The Swan Queen in Swan Lake. To be The Swan Queen, you must embrace the good and bad sides of the Queen - the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina is a pro at being the White Swan -- thanks to her years of always working towards perfection, aided by her destructive home life given in large part to her mother, a failure in the eyes of the world. However, being the Good Girl has severely contained and restricted Nina's dark side -- but it's there. An extreme white has to have an extreme black. When she goes to see the director about landing the part of The Swan Queen, he tries to seduce her with a kiss - she bites him. She refuses his kiss of death and lands the role of The Swan Queen.
The rest of the movie is about her work as she prepares to become the perfect Black Swan. This requires a lot of deterioration of her sanity and the persona she's carried with her for probably all of her life. She becomes angrier, she hallucinates, she hangs out with the bad girl and even has a lesbian sex scene (straight guys, take note.) She is preparing for her role, whether she realizes it or not.
Darren Aronofsky, who also directed The Fountain, which was a mind blowing tour de force, is a grade A mastermind of motion pictures. Black Swan deserved the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards this year. I still haven't seen The King's Speech, but I'm sure it can't beat this. Don't even try to waste your time persuading me. I'll make my judgement later when I've seen it.
Winona Ryder has a small role in this movie, which surprised me. She is the former Swan Queen. She was perfectly cast. Her age and her own private dark history allowed her to fit into what she was here so well. Natalie Portman is not someone I've cared much for as an actress before, but she has finally found a role she was meant to be in and her Academy Award for Best Actress was deserved.
Do see Black Swan.