Black Swan - A Review
I'd heard a lot of good about this one, and a lot of bad. I think this was due to the marketing. When I first saw the trailer for this film I thought it was a supernatural thriller. Then the next wave of publicity hit and I thought it was just a good ol' thriller, no supernatural, but still, ya know, thrilling. Then the next wave of suddenly sterile publicity hit with all the critical raves and I thought it was an art house thriller. Then I watched it. What is it? Despite the misleading or at least poorly coordinated public campaign its a bit of all three. Wait... maybe the campaign wasn't soo bad... I only point it out because most people don't pay attention to the position the studio takes in marketing a film. I found it a bit all over the place. What do the numbers say? More of the same! Apparently in it's opening weekend it took in a mere 1.4 million$, compared to roughly eight weeks later it sits at something like 90million$! And the critics agree. The Academy gave it five nods including Best Picture, Best Director (Darren Aronofsky), and Best Actress (Natalie Portman). And I just finished watching it. So here's what I think.
The Deal:
Natalie Portman plays Nina, an aspiring ballet dancer who has worked hard for her company for years. She has a great drive matched only by her way-too-dedicated mother (played by Barbara Hershey), who longs to see her precious and over-protected daughter succeed. And though the director of the company wants her to play the lead in his newly imagined production of Swan Lake (at the dismay of his now former principal dancer, played almost anonymously by Wynona Ryder) he has reservations about her ability to play the seductive Black Swan. See, Nina is sweet and innocent like the White Swan for which she is perfect, but he eyes a seductive and sexy newcomer as a possible replacement in case Nina can't pull it off. This brings us to Lily, played by Mila Kunis. It seems Lily, on loan from San Francisco, also wants this part but she tries to befriend Nina anyway, hoping to gel with the company.
Rehearsals are brutal, with the director Thomas (played with relish and intimidation by Vincent Cassel) trying to push Nina beyond her personal and physical limits. "Lose yourself" he would shout. "Surrender yourself to the part!"
As she continues to improve but still come up short Nina comes to see guile in Lily, and her motives come into question in befriending Nina. Especially when Lily is tapped by Thomas to be Nina's understudy. Meanwhile Thomas has his own designs for Nina. Intertwined with all of this is some beautiful dance and music.
One fascinating theme for me was how when we hear actors or actresses in interviews talking about 'the process'. "How did you immerse in that role" or "Did you lose yourself"? This film really brings home the effort artists put in to their work as portrayals of other peoples' visions. It really isn't as easy as we'd like to believe.
I was thoroughly enthralled by this film! Natalie Portman drew me in almost hypnotically as the shy, soft-spoken Nina. Her drive and passion as a dancer was credited by her 9 months of hard core training for the part. She looked every bit the hungry ballerina. Vincent Cassel was fantastic as the wolf-like director of the ballet. Mila Kunis was underplayed and exceptional as Lily, and was totally snubbed by the Oscars as Best Supporting Actress, but again, the Oscars don't mean shit. (Did I mention Halle Berry in Monsters Ball?) She was understated and fun as the would-be usurper of the crown. And then there was Barbara Hershey. Typically good, because lets face it she's a phenomenal actress, but what was with her teeth? In Beaches it was her blown-up lips, here it was her bizarre caps. Poor Barbara. Anyway, she delivered a great performance as the creepy stage mom. Maybe in a role like this her plastic surgery lends to the patheticism of the character.
Anyway, I loved this film. It was full of the kind of magic that starts and ends with the credits. Opening credits you know nothing, end credits you know all you need to know. It was beautiful. The climactic scene towards the end (which of COURSE I won't spoil) is one of the most beautiful moments on film I've ever seen. But don't see it for that scene, see it for the entire experience.
It's a wonderfully artful film that can be appreciated by anyone if you give yourself over to it.
Black Swan is in theatres now. It is expected on DVD in March 2011.
The Deal:
Natalie Portman plays Nina, an aspiring ballet dancer who has worked hard for her company for years. She has a great drive matched only by her way-too-dedicated mother (played by Barbara Hershey), who longs to see her precious and over-protected daughter succeed. And though the director of the company wants her to play the lead in his newly imagined production of Swan Lake (at the dismay of his now former principal dancer, played almost anonymously by Wynona Ryder) he has reservations about her ability to play the seductive Black Swan. See, Nina is sweet and innocent like the White Swan for which she is perfect, but he eyes a seductive and sexy newcomer as a possible replacement in case Nina can't pull it off. This brings us to Lily, played by Mila Kunis. It seems Lily, on loan from San Francisco, also wants this part but she tries to befriend Nina anyway, hoping to gel with the company.
Rehearsals are brutal, with the director Thomas (played with relish and intimidation by Vincent Cassel) trying to push Nina beyond her personal and physical limits. "Lose yourself" he would shout. "Surrender yourself to the part!"
As she continues to improve but still come up short Nina comes to see guile in Lily, and her motives come into question in befriending Nina. Especially when Lily is tapped by Thomas to be Nina's understudy. Meanwhile Thomas has his own designs for Nina. Intertwined with all of this is some beautiful dance and music.
One fascinating theme for me was how when we hear actors or actresses in interviews talking about 'the process'. "How did you immerse in that role" or "Did you lose yourself"? This film really brings home the effort artists put in to their work as portrayals of other peoples' visions. It really isn't as easy as we'd like to believe.
I was thoroughly enthralled by this film! Natalie Portman drew me in almost hypnotically as the shy, soft-spoken Nina. Her drive and passion as a dancer was credited by her 9 months of hard core training for the part. She looked every bit the hungry ballerina. Vincent Cassel was fantastic as the wolf-like director of the ballet. Mila Kunis was underplayed and exceptional as Lily, and was totally snubbed by the Oscars as Best Supporting Actress, but again, the Oscars don't mean shit. (Did I mention Halle Berry in Monsters Ball?) She was understated and fun as the would-be usurper of the crown. And then there was Barbara Hershey. Typically good, because lets face it she's a phenomenal actress, but what was with her teeth? In Beaches it was her blown-up lips, here it was her bizarre caps. Poor Barbara. Anyway, she delivered a great performance as the creepy stage mom. Maybe in a role like this her plastic surgery lends to the patheticism of the character.
Anyway, I loved this film. It was full of the kind of magic that starts and ends with the credits. Opening credits you know nothing, end credits you know all you need to know. It was beautiful. The climactic scene towards the end (which of COURSE I won't spoil) is one of the most beautiful moments on film I've ever seen. But don't see it for that scene, see it for the entire experience.
It's a wonderfully artful film that can be appreciated by anyone if you give yourself over to it.
Black Swan is in theatres now. It is expected on DVD in March 2011.
posted by johnnykocktail at 2:48 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home