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Visitors Review

Michelle Lacey 2012-05-25 08:46:56

Intriguing but a little over-hyped

My lateness in watching Black Swan is due to two things; a) a tendencyto stay away from anything that garners so much hype and b) anuncertainty about Darren Aronofsky's direction in previous work. Thisturns out to be a film that everyone should see once without a doubt,if only to see the excellent case study of the doppelgänger.While Portman is commendable, it is easy to see how the film couldanger those in the dancing profession. With so much media attentionpaid to the fact that Portman trained for several months to perform thedancing segments, the film is still very much an actresses movie asopposed to a dancer's one. This is inevitably Aronofsky's goal asPortman's character Nina, a perfectionist and ballet obsessed youngwoman, is ultimately performing her way through life right from thebeginning.Without ruining it for anyone who has yet to see it, the basic storysurrounds Nina living with her mother (Barbara Hershey) in New Yorkwhere she is attempting to become the Swan Queen in a new production ofSwan Lake. The role is problematic as Nina only knows how to embody theinnocent character of the White Swan. To become the Queen she must alsoembrace the sensuality and danger of the Black Swan, a point that herdance instructor Thomas (Vincent Cassel) fervently points out. Whilstpracticing routines at home, it becomes evident that Nina isdangerously unbalanced mentally as she appears trapped between a dreamthat her mother once had (and gave up when she became pregnant withNina) and her own insecurities, including a disposition towardsself-harm. Interestingly, the scenes involving Nina's mother reveal alot about how the two have lived together, especially since the vieweris given no background information on the characters. The mother'sdemonstrative and combatant attitude provides a rocky foundation forNina and her desire to see her daughter accomplish what was not to befor her, only adds to Nina's self-destruction.Portman plays the self-conscious but talented dancer very well and herperformance is echoed by strong supporting actors. Vincent Casselprovides an excellently creepy performance as the dance instructorwhilst Mila Kunis' Lily is a perfect foil for Nina's perfectionistqualities. Also featuring in the film, albeit briefly, is Winona Ryderas Beth MacIntyre. Ryder's understated appearance as Beth, or the DyingSwan, (the former principal dancer in Thomas' ballet whom Nina isreplacing), is remarkable for its effect upon the story. Although sheis not largely present in most scenes, her descent from popularitybegins to mirror Nina's loneliness and descent into madness, quiteearly on. Thus, Beth functions as a forewarning of Nina's peril andultimate mental unraveling.A friend pointed out the significance of mirrors in Black Swan andwithout watching for them, it is noticeable how there is a mirror ofsome description in almost every scene. This attention to detail is oneof the fabulous things about Aronofsky and is present in all his workand in this film, it is what keeps the theme of the doppelgängerpresent throughout. Nina's distrust of everyone around her is shownthrough reflections of evil imagery and characters, which relays thefragmented state of her mind. Towards the end of the film sheconstantly sees reflections of herself as the Black Swan, a twisted anddisturbed version of herself that is beginning to emerge from herinnocent exterior.Throughout the film, Thomas tells Nina that in order to portray theBlack Swan she must lose herself in the role rather than be sostructured and concerned with perfection. Consequently, Nina does loseherself in the role and in her first and only full performance of theballet on stage, her transformation into the Black Swan becomes a formof self-immolation. Anyone who is aware of the myth of the Black Swanwill see where the film is going as soon as it starts, but it isdefinitely worth the watch. Overall, there are some subtle surprisesthat keep it interesting and some unsettling moments that are very wellcaptured. Definitely makes an impression. Black Swan gets a thumbs up!All Rights Reserved © Copyright 2011 Michelle Lacey (Michelle NíLáitheása).

jessie-39 2012-05-24 16:47:52

Natalie Portman...Nuff said!! Academy Award

My wife and I see over 100 movies a year, having been in the businessand now retired. WE DO NOT READ ANY REVIEWS BY ANYONE. WE TRY TO TELLOUR FRIENDS THAT A CRITIC IS ONE PERSON, HE OR SHE IS NOT US. Criticsare also a dying breed as newspapers disappear.Therefore, our critique is not biased and based on actually seeing themovie in a theatre. Many critics see the movies 5 at a time in aviewing room.Not a real atmosphere to gauge audience reaction. How canyou review a movie without the real deal?Natalie Portman is on screen for 99.9% of the time and that just isn'tenough for this sensational actress.Her star has finally reached thetop. The movie is great and she is Oscar shoe in.don't miss it. It lives up to all the pre hype. Wow! Little miss LongIsland, Harvard graduate. Delicious.

Timmy Turner 2012-05-23 01:12:14

I like Swans

Well wasn't sure that Natalie Portman suited the role of a black swanbut the costume designers were so great that she actually looked like aswan. Didn't understand the film like what swan does ballet however ithought Samuel L Jackson had a great part in the film, as the pappyswan. Overall i feel the film was great and hoping for a sequel thathas a less racist title e.g. Mixed colour swan as i thought thedirectors went a bit OTT on the title, a must watch for all Portmanlovers and a decent storyline though complicated. The film is similarto 'holy grail' series and if you like that then watch this film.Wouldn't recommend it to people who have had Swan traumas, but a GREATfilm.

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain 2012-05-22 12:17:13

Black Swan (2010)

Aronofsky weaves a visually complex and disturbing film from a fairlysimple story. The film is all about obsession and how it can drive youmad. The lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur, as Portman'slife seems to reflect her art. Black Swan is exactly that, a dark andtwisted picture that is elevated to a beautiful status, even if that isjust because all those around it pale in comparison. Portman gives atremendous performance, with excellent back-up from Kunis, Cassel andRyder. Each character takes their toll on the protagonist, before itbecomes obvious that she is infecting those around her. This film hasthe ability to become a classic horror film, as the terrifying momentsgradually build, and are hidden away amongst the drama of thecharacters.

buzzbruin 2012-05-22 02:05:20

You have got to be kidding

This is the worst film I have seen this year. It was annoying, and justawful, The director in his usual ham-fisted "style" gave us 3 options:It is a disappointing ballet movie, it is part horror and part dancemovie and it is a pyscological thriller? It fails completely like allfilm school-like directors films and is so heavy handed it makes youwant to walk out. Ms. Portmans acting consists of 2 expressions grimand crazy grim. The dancing is infantile, with arm waving and spinningaround substituting for the real thing. As is true of amateur directorsand screen writers, there is NO background given of the lead part, sowe have no idea if her actions are real or fiction. It would howevermake a great film to show film students a showcase film with terriblewriting and even worse directing. The dance director is not writtenskillfully and he is an ass and we have no hint as to why he is thegreat artist-director of dance, None of the characters are fleshed outas human beings, they are all stock human beings. When one is asked toGUESS what this movie is trying to be, mystery hysterical girl parthorror or dream then it is simply not worth wasting your time on.

atanas_chamov 2012-05-21 13:16:52

Why do people like psychotic screenplays?

Why do people like psychotic screenplays? Good performers in BlackSwan, bad screenplay. Just to get people's attention (and money)screenwriters' imagination goes really wild in their desperate effortto shock us. It is the same kind of attempt to get seduce our mind asLady Gaga putting on dress of real meat or whatever stupid stuff on herhead. "I'm not normal like you, please watch me. I'm a celebrity" Why do people like psychotic screenplays? Good performers in BlackSwan, bad screenplay. Just to get people's attention (and money)screenwriters' imagination goes really wild in their desperate effortto shock us. It is the same kind of attempt to get seduce our mind asLady Gaga putting on dress of real meat or whatever stupid stuff on herhead. "I'm not normal like you, please watch me. I'm a celebrity."

dominperca 2012-05-18 21:12:17

Not what I expected

This movie is trying to focus thing that happened in our real world butbut the screenplay sometimes does not match with this objective. Someother things of the dancer life could be included to release audiencefrom tension. One of the messages to get from the movie is that we haveto listen the advices from our trainers or parents to improve someaspects of our life. Working hard we can get anything we want to reachbut being careful to not follow the same strategy that other colleaguesuse to be successful.At the end I get confused if Nina has problems in her mind or not.Anyway, is the type of non common movie. Sometimes you don't whatreally happened due to Nina imagines things and then you see events. Inmy humble opinion, this movie is acceptable almost reaching good.

2012-05-18 17:53:32

Black feathers

Darren Aronofsky is really the master of uncomfortable films. They are brilliant, but they make you want to squirm in your seat. So expect nothing less from "Black Swan," a sublimely horrific psychological thriller. Aronofsky crafts the delicate, dark tale of a fragile young woman's descent into insanity, and Natalie Portman pours every ounce of her skill into the role. It's a beautiful tangle of ballet, classical music, black wings and warping reality. The lead dancer (Winona Ryder) of a New York ballet company is hospitalized, so a new dancer is needed for "Swan Lake" -- a girl who can play both the pure White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) desperately wants to dance the role, especially since her controlling stage mother (Barbara Hershey) has always driven her to be "perfect." Many other girls want the role, including the new girl Lily (Mila Kunis). But even after Nina wins the role, she doesn't find any peace. She begins to believe that Lily is trying to steal the role of a lifetime, and is tormented by strange voices and hallucinations -- and spiky little feather start sprouting from her shoulders. And as her debut approaches, Nina begins sliding further into a nightmarish world where she IS the Black Swan. In his previous movies, Darren Aronofsky has explored psychological grotesquerie or exquisite beauty... but I don't think he's ever melded the two as he does in "Black Swan." This movie is a nightmare -- a graceful, satin-swathed, feathered, mirrored nightmare, full of strange images (screaming pictures) and haunting moments that make you want to hide. At the movie's start, there's a vague sense of unease and instability, as if something nightmarish is lurking right around the corner. But with every successive scene, Aronofsky painstakingly slips in more and more surreality and creepiness, until you find yourself locked in Nina's living hell. It all climaxes in a brilliant juxtaposition of dance, death, beauty and horror. The freakiest parts of it may be the changes to Nina's body, namely her backwards "swan legs" and the feathers on her back. Is her madness changing her body? Is it just another hallucination? It takes awhile to figure out. The lead role is one of those roles that demands all the passion, skill and life that an actor can pour into it, and Natalie Portman gives the role everything she has -- her Nina is a trembling, fragile creature made out of glass, who begins to crack under pressure. Mila Kunis gives a subtle, strong performance as Lily (both in and out of Nina's head), and there are great side performances by Hershey, Ryder, and Vincent Cassel. "Black Swan" is a movie that lulls you into a beautiful nightmare, and leaves you trying to unravel what is madness and what is reality. It's uncomfortable to watch, but it's supposed to be.

kkj62004 2012-05-16 03:18:39

Holiday Turkey

I saw Black Swan a couple of weeks ago and for the life of me cannotget over the accolades and praise this movie has received the lastcouple of weeks. I must have missed something between my popcorn andCoke. Am I on planet Earth? Yes, I'm sure Natalie Portman will win anOscar for her notable portrayal of a disturbed young ballerina and amequally confident it will take home the naked golden man for BestPicture.Darren Aronofsky, the Director, attempts to lead us down the RabbitHole through the psychiatric disillusions of a talented, albeitcoo-coo, young ballerina. There's no supernatural element here (as Iwas led to believe in the trailers) only the visions of a poordisturbed individual. Frankly, I find that notion a bit exploitative toall those who suffer from a mental illness. Yes, I get this is athought provoking tale with the the whole White=Good and Black=Badthing. The audience however, is left to wonder what the heck is goingon. I must admit, I kept waiting for the shoe to drop but it nevermaterializes. The tension builds nicely throughout but the payoff is alittle too late.Someone called the movie "Epic." The only this "Epic about Black Swanis hitting the bulls-eye for non-watchable. Do yourself a favor andstay away from this movie.

MovieEnthusiast13 2012-05-15 06:44:04

Natalie Portman powers this outstanding film

Black Swan is just as much about a woman dancing in Swan Lake as it isa modern retelling of the story. Nina Sayers starts off as the perfectSwan Queen, pure, innocent and sweet. The film sees Nina (NataliePortman) preparing for the performance of Swan Lake, as she takes onthe role of the White Swan she seems to be becoming more and more likeher evil twin, the Black Swan. This film encapsulates the essence ofTchaikovsky's original ballet, playing with the lines between good andevil and displaying the conflict and delusions of the protagonist.Nina begins as a young ballerina who is hoping to receive a larger rolein this season of the New York City Ballet as she is a perfectionistwho couldn't work harder at her art form. She lives at home with herover-protective mother, a former dancer herself who invades into Nina'slife. Thomas Leroy, the head of the dance company, is hesitant toselect Nina as the Swan Queen in the company's new production of SwanLake. This is because Thomas does not believe that Nina has the passionand emotion to portray both the White and the Black Swans.Then another dancer from San Francisco joins the company, Lily (MilaKunis). She seems to be everything Nina is not, outgoing, bold and openabout herself. Lily's presence puts pressure on Nina, as well as thepressure of the role itself, of her mother and of the other dancers whowanted to be the Swan Queen and claim Nina slept with Thomas to get thepart. Nina begins to hallucinate and slowly loses her mind with all ofthe emotional and physical stress she has on her.Natalie Portman powers the film with an incredible performance. Thecharacter of Nina is acted amazingly as she descends into madness.Portman drives the spirit of the movie, a seemingly fragile girl whobecomes passionate and aggressive through her own creation. Thesupporting cast is great as well. This is by far the greatestperformance we have yet seen out of both Portman and Kunis.Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) directs the film with an absurd qualitythat makes it great. Black Swan is incredibly tense, with emotion beingexplored deeply. Aronofsky also explores the themes of sexuality andviolence in a way that disorients the audience and almost makes peoplequestion their own sanity. Overall, Black Swan is a terrific film whichdelves deeper than most thrillers, exploring the psychological causeand effects of actions, as well as displaying the art of ballet and thestress associated with a role with almost perfection.

2012-05-14 13:36:22

Superb psychological film with Natalie's breakthrough performance

At first, I don't have any interest on watching this film. 'BlackSwan'… looking at the title made me thinks of a boring movie on balletperformances on Swan Lake. However, as this movie received criticalacclaim, and the main cast, Natalie Portman getting praises for herrole, and the movie received nominations for best picture, bestactress, etc in Oscar, and so I decided to watch it, after listening tomy friends' feedbacks on it. Everything is just good! So off I go!It is a movie about a production of Swan Lake that requires a ballerinato play both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. Onedancer, Nina (Portman), is a perfect fit for the White Swan, while Lily(Kunis) has a personality that matches the Black Swan. When the twocompete for the parts, Nina finds a dark side to herself. NataliePortman's acting in the film is brilliant and natural. Her performancereally bring us, the audiences into the film until it is like we sharedthe same feeling as she does, and get fully affected by her character.If the Oscar doesn't give her the Best Actress, I'm going to seriouslyboycott the awards. She truly deserved it. Her acting impressed me alot, the best of the year for a female cast. I would like to praise herfor her commitment to this movie by learning ballet dance which is verydifficult.I heard that there are a number of scary or frightening scenes in themovie. After I have watched it, this movie is not a horror-based film,but it is a psychological-thriller one. It plays with mind, just likethe movie 'Inception' (on dreams) but in total different approach, thistime being targeted to the only leading character, Nina by NataliePortman. The first half of the movie seems a bit boring to me, withplot gets dragged, but as soon as the dark side of her prevails on thesecond half, everything goes interesting and exciting, fast-paced and Ican consider 'epic' especially when she finally performed the BlackSwan very well.The story goes a bit complicated, which I already expected once a movieis about dealing with mind. Nina is fantasizing a lot (or I should sayhallucination) of her friend, Lily, her director, Thomas, herpredecessor, Beth and even of herself which she is definitelyfrightened of it. So in the middle, I am even blurred by which scenesare real, which are not. Finally, at the end, I understood the wholething, and well, it ended beautifully, for me even though we do notknow the fate of Nina who is injured (sorry for a bit of spoiler). Thelast phrase she said is immensely breathtaking; 'I felt it. Perfect. Iwas perfect.' before the screen goes black.There are also quite a number of disturbing scenes in the movie as Ninahas to be dirty-minded and be seductive to perfect her role as BlackSwan. I'm already expecting some parts will be cut out of the movie inMalaysia, but I'm happy with it as only a bit of these disturbingscenes are removed (the middle process removed with the beginning andend process still shown) The audiences would still know what the scenesare intending to tell us. There is one foreigner (quite an old lady)sitting beside me, and she is like really disturbed with those scenes.Finally, it's a great piece of work, by the directors, producers andthe casts. Out of 10 points, I would rate this one 7.9. It is a verygood movie, but sorry, it is still not best enough to get Best Picturein Oscar or even in my opinion.

Conner Currier 2012-05-14 03:41:08

Perfect Depiction of Mental Horror

Darren Aronofsky has created yet another mind wrenching and horrifyingfilm. Black Swan is simply about Nina, a ballet dancer, who aims to beperfect in everything she does in ballet. She wins the role to play theSwan Queen in the company's adaptation of Swan Lake. The films dealswith her psychological struggles in becoming perfect and staying aheadof her 'rival.'Black Swan is a musical, visual, and artistic success. Clint Mansell'sadaption of the original Swan Lake music by Tchaikovsky really holdsthis story together as well as creates emotional tension. Every moviethat Aronofsky and Mansell create together truly deserves hugerecognition. The overall ambiance and feel of this film just gives me the chills.The acting by Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel issuperb. The combination of their portrayal of their characters and themusic, creates one heck of a story, very similar to Aronofsky's RequiemFor A Dream. The other similar element between the two films is that Icouldn't stop thinking about each movie the entire rest of the day thatsaw them.The only thing the film could do less with is there were so manyinteractions with people's crotches and that sort of thing.

moviewizguy 2012-05-14 04:15:07

Dark, Twisted, Brilliant

BLACK SWAN follows the story of Nina, a ballerina in a New York Cityballet company whose life is completely consumed with dance. Whenartistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina BethMacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake,Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily,who impresses Leroy as well. As the two young dancers expand theirrivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touchwith her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.BLACK SWAN is a dark yet viscerally engaging film that is perfect onalmost every level. Director Darren Aronofsky crafts each scene withcare and precision. The use of mostly handycams is nothing short of abrilliant decision, bringing in a sense of realism and grittiness whichis appropriate for this film. Most importantly, Natalie Portman givesthe performance of her career. Like Aronofsky's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM,BLACK SWAN starts off small but slowly builds up to great intensitywith a chaotic climax that will leave your jaws dropped.The film manages to sustain an unsettling atmosphere throughout alongwith hypnotizing you whether you like it or not. The score by ClintMansell is pretty captivating too. Along with Natalie Portman, the restof the cast are just as fantastic. Mila Kunis is one of my favorite newstars out there after having seen her in FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL andTHE BOOK OF ELI and she gives an effortless performance playing a sexyand slightly dangerous character. Winona Ryder also gives a terrificperformance although she's in a brief role. Vincent Cassel and BarbaraHershey are pretty good as well.While not as depressing and intense as REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, BLACK SWANis a pretty similar film. With a wildly terrific performance byPortman, an interesting visual palette that your eyes can feast upon,and an unrelenting atmosphere that will put you at the edge of yourseats, BLACK SWAN is a twisted yet seductive tale about the dark sideof human nature which we can all relate to, as unfortunate as that maysound. BLACK SWAN is really one of the best films of the year.

axlrhodes 2012-05-13 15:16:49

One for pushy sports parents to watch. 9/10

Upon release, this film fooled a lot of it's audience with it's horrorcontent and gruesome depictions. Being a fan of the horror genre, i wasvery interested in seeing the merging of ballet and horror, and iwasn't disappointed. Darren Aranofsky has delivered an affecting filmwith some great performances. The idea of someone pushing their body toit's limits in order to achieve perfection is probably not aparticularly original idea, but watching Natalie Portman push herself,hearing her bones crack, watching her wince through the pain barrier,it's hard not to get involved with her as a character and feel sympathyfor her. This film should be shown to pushy sports parents as a whatnot to do. Credit must also go to Vincent Cassell for a greatsupporting turn.

VirginiaViewer 2012-05-12 19:35:19

Outstanding

This movie gets into your head right from the start and stays there -for days after. The dynamic and character development between Kunis andPortman (besides being super-hot) is deep and makes the film worthseeing on its own. But Portman - this may be her best effort yet. Irarely forget when I'm watching a famous actor play a role, but in thiscase I really did. Her transformation is not only convincing, but bothdisturbing and fun at the same time. That's not an easy combo toimagine, let alone pull off, but she nails it. An exceptionallywell-produced film, the Oscar talk is absolutely warranted. I wouldhighly suggest seeing this one in a good theater - the cinematography,ballet choreography and music deserve the giant screen and killerspeakers. On a side note, I can't wait to check out executive producerTyler Thompson's follow-up effort - a remake of a the classic 1989 UKghost story, "The Woman in Black."

Jim Carter 2012-05-12 03:32:44

A True Masterpiece

Late in the afternoon, with the rain and wind outside, I found myselfsitting stories above Piazza Strozzi in a comfortable armchair dancingthe ballet with Natalie Portman. Such is the dynamic of DarrenAronofsky's 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan.The film explores the persona of Nina Sayers (Portman), a young balletdancer on the New York City stage, competing for a part in hercompany's production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Nina struggles to gainacceptance from her peers until she is chosen by director Thomas Leroy(Vincent Cassel) to dance the lead role. In training for the part, Ninafalls victim to Thomas' ambiguous demands and sexual advances, as heimplores her to become not just the innocent white swan, which hernatural naivety emanates, but the sinister black swan; a threateningalter ego necessary for the role.A preexisting mental illness emerges in full force when Nina learns todance the black swan and forgets how to live her own innocent life. Asthe boundary between Tchaikovsky's tragedy and Nina's realitydisappears her fate dwindles in the hands of the production. With thecrowd fixed attentively, and the orchestra rumbling, the final actbrings the black swan closer and closer to her own self inflicteddeath.A true art film, Aronofsky presents a number of haunting motifs in hisuse of mirrors, doppelgangers and in the way Thomas seems to verballynarrate Nina's story, effectively rending him the director not just ofher ballet, but of her life. The 16mm hand-held camera employed byAronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique gives the film a rawdocumentary quality, amplifying the realism and drama of Nina's innerstruggle. In addition, the highly-mobile camera technique used in theperformance sequences allows the audience to dance with the characters.While praising this film for what it does effectively, I must also noteit is doubtful one will desire to sit for a second viewing of BlackSwan. The excess of "glass-in-flesh" gross-out horror makes Black Swanone of the most difficult films in recent years. Nonetheless, there isno excuse to skip this masterpiece by Darren Aronofsky, where theboundary between truth and torment is as blurred as the eyes of aballerina in the bright spotlight of a New York City stage.

locovel 2012-05-09 18:19:37

The use of the word cliché is becoming a cliché

This is more of a review of the reviews I have read about Black Swan onIMDb. A cliché is often a vivid depiction of an abstraction that relies uponanalogy or exaggeration for effect. One could simply say this wholemovie was based on this and then say this about any exaggerated orsimple story. Black Swan was a cliché: a very pretty and disturbingone.I've read a lot of comments that have compared this movie topornography. There were no scenes of genitalia, erections, penetrationor vulgar dialogue and delivery boys. The sex scene between Portman andKunis was about a minute and was gratuitous (is gratuity a negativething??) and could have been longer which would have even moregratified my unnecessary and clichéd sense of entertainment. It wasn'tunnecessary. Nina's lack of sexual experience and fragile idealism iscontradicted by the sexual aggressiveness and perceived debauchery ofher mentors and peers and as a result she tries to expand herexperiences as much as she can handle. This, in combination with herown ideals and destructive tendencies, leads to her deterioration.Tchaikovsky wasn't downplayed in this movie. He's dead so anyone thatwould spend the time to arrange his music, by definition, elevates himor more specifically, his music. I'm educated in music, not in dancebut I'll assume the same comment regarding this movie degrading ballet.If you want to uphold the integrity of classical music and ballet thensupport your local classical and dance ensembles. This isn't adocumentary so it is absolutely ridiculous for people to have disdainbecause the movie didn't show respect towards other forms ofentertainment.I now wish she would have actually turned into a Black Swan at the endand really upset viewers who already hated this movie.

nathanschubach 2012-05-09 09:09:15

Finally, ballerinas have their "Fight Club"

All I can say is, Darren Aronofsky…you've done it again. And what he'sdone is manage to guide the audience of "Black Swan" down a rabbitholeof self-realization and graphic, symbolic obviousness. I've beenwatching his works since "Pi," but it seems he's transformed his goalsto answer one question, "How can I completely confuse an audience whilemaking them want more at the same time?" Even his self-releasedcommentary for "The Fountain" was shrouded with vague mystery,attempting to describe the process of filming the movie without givingaway the full story, yet hinting at clues throughout the film. If theaudience is Watson to Aronofsky's Sherlock Holmes, Watson would'veturned in his 2-week-notice by now. Getting back to the film, thecinematography was brilliantly stark and remarkable, even though mostscenes were shot during ballet practice with no scenery. When there wasscenery -- the devilish artwork, the club scenes, the dressing-up ofNatalie Portman's character's room – it was like visiting anotherworld. Portman's acting really shines through along with Mila Kunis asthey perfected several months of vigorous dance-training and dieting toachieve these character's mindsets, and that's before adding all of thepsychological damage Portman's character goes through in this film.Clint Mansell makes a return to do the scoring in the film, which istraditionally-based around the ballet themes but with a modern, low-keytwist. Cheers to the Chemical Brothers for making a fantastic trackduring the club scene, by the way. I do think the addition of theKronos Quartet would have been an awesome choice to fit into a balletrecital, but one can't have everything, I suppose. Overall, the filmwill keep you enthralled to figure out what's really going on withthese characters in the same way "Fight Club" held so many's attentionsduring that film, but it's up to the viewer to decide what her outcomereally is.

Bob Pr. 2012-05-06 11:49:25

Compelling, interesting for 90%--but not enjoyable for 10%

A young ballerina ("Nina"/Natalie Portman) is held in an imprisoningrelationship with her single mother (Barbara Hershey) who, herself, hadbeen an aspiring ballerina until.... It's never explicitly stated but it's easily inferred that the mother'scareer ended when she became pregnant with Nina after an affair withher ballet master and that she's trying to fulfill her own thwartedambitions through guiding Nina. What we see in Nina is a young woman with a reliance on her mother moretypical of a 9-11 year old girl (and with a similar stunted personalmaturity), trying to fulfill mother's desire to be the perfectballerina her mother wished to be and avoid any romantic relationships(which could interfere with reaching that goal as it had for hermother).Nina suddenly has a chance to dance the role of the Swan Queen (thewhite swan) in "Swan Lake" but must also dance (as standard for thisballet) her nemesis' role, a look-alike black swan. As the virtuousWhite Swan, Nina's perfect but her ballet master (who aims to have sexwith Nina) keeps badgering her to be sexier, more seducing as thenon-virtuous Black Swan. This, of course, clashes with Nina's mother'supbringing of Nina.This clash provokes a developing psychotic reaction which Nina does notrecognize--and, for awhile, neither do we, the film's viewers: we reactto some scenes as actual experiences of Nina only to find out laterthat those episodes were the stuff of Nina's psychosis. And we leavethe theater very unsure of how much of what we saw of Nina'sexperiences were real or her hallucinations. I'm sure our fascinationwith this uncertainty and trying to unravel the tangle of reality frominsanity contributes much to what drives many viewers to be fascinatedwith this movie. (E.g., look at the questions and debates on IMDb'sMessage Board for this film.)IMO, the pathological relation between Nina and her mother that sets upwhat follows was exceptionally well done by Portman and Hershey.There's enough similarity in their facial features that we easily seethem as mother and adult child. All the other cast members ("Lily"/MilaKunis as a real world seductive Black Swan and rival; Vincent Cassel asthe preying ballet master) seemed perfectly chosen and gave excellentperformances. My movie companion (who took ballet for years) said thescenes of ballet practices were authentic.IMO some of those therapists experienced in treating personality &psychotic disorders (especially including the various schizophrenias)may be among those having quibbles with "Black Swan." E.g., the clashbetween Nina's internalized aims of her mother vs. those of her balletmaster would certainly provoke a massive conflict within Nina. But adepressive reaction would be far more likely and, if a psychoticreaction did occur, there'd surely be noticeable disorganizationbetween her episodes of hallucinations (i.e., she'd not be able tofunction or dance normally between those psychotic episodes). But captivating narratives have never had to strictly follow reality tomake them enjoyable--e.g., "Alice in Wonderland," "Kiki's DeliveryService," "Star Wars," "Harry Potter," the "Twilight" vampire series,and hundreds of others. "Black Swan" is an entertaining,psycho-fictional, horror movie--it's NOT a realistic case study ordocumentary.I think IMDb's current rating of 8.7 of 10 stars and Ebert's rating of3.5 of 4 stars are both representative of how most of the generalpublic will react to this film.I think a 4 or 5 of 10 (or even less) could be more typical by some ofmy shrink brethren with much mental health experience dealing withpsychoses as well as from those offended by the lesbian sexual contentor the gore.

Zaffy-1 2012-05-05 21:55:21

Overrated I am afraid..

The director shares with us the repulsive story of a psychopath in allthe disturbing details. As he usually does in his movies. But this timethe trip feels cheap and forced . And boring. And forced.During the entire movie I was pushed so hard to feel this horror storythat after a while I simple didn't care anymore. And all this "trip"wondering what is reality and what's not got really repetitive andpointless after a while. (Another new trend in the movies today, not toknow what's real or not..oh well.. confusing is the new black)I would appreciate it better if Aronofsky was narrating about anaverage character and her descent to hell under some circumstancesinstead of the obvious, to tell the story of a really troubled woman(to say the least). The duality of the main character is also for laughs.The "white Swan" side of the heroine is a shy virgin 25+yo who alwayslistens to her mom and lives only between her teenager room and theballet. The "black swan" side is an arivist,manipulative, sociopath, murderer,oh yes and ESPECIALLY someone who likes or even dares to have sex (withthe same sex no less!). Wow I didn't know having sex or even touchingyourself brings you in the dark side...Two extremes in the two corners fighting till death. Does the creator underrates its audience or he doesn't believe in thepower of his storyto simplify it that much? Or he simply tries to tellus the story of a psychopath in a tad confusing way?In any case, IMHO, none of the above worked well. p.s. I would praise Portman's performance but I think the sides of hercharacter were way too loud and obvious so I doubt she had too muchtrouble portraying the two swans.