Black Swan (2010)
Summary
Genre: Drama, Suspense, ThrillerGoodies:
+ Surreal storyline that delivers on being strange, but fascinating, + Great performances from Natalie Portland and Mila KunisBaddies:
- Can be confusing about what is actually going on in the film, - Setting may deter some folks, - Polarizing experienceA ballet dancer wins the lead in “Swan Lake” and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan, but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like the evil twin sister of the White Swan, the Black Swan.
Black Swan was an experience, period. I know this film has already gained tons of exposure due to it’s intensity and controversy. Initially, I did not want to see the movie at all (sorry, I judged a movie by its ballet cover), and only ended up wanting to see it because I heard there were some very extreme opinions on the film. I love a film that gets people talking and bears a very intense response – that means the film has something to say or show – and that makes me want to experience it – hence it was an experience. I will say that I don’t feel very extreme about it (which I wanted to!). I will lean towards, “I liked it” because I think the imagery and the CONCEPT was very well-crafted, but the execution (not the acting, that was amazing) could have FELT a bit different. I’m not sure how, but there were parts I just felt offput by (how much of the story was involved in the director trying to make her into his vision and pushing her, it got repetitive). Overall, the vision was great. It does lose some credit for the “unnatural” yet TERRIBLE – transformations that Natalie Portman goes through. I didn’t think they added anything other than pushing what we already knew, and looked just very faked. I also love that the film is a denial of genre. It’s part suspense, part drama, part thriller (some say part horror, maybe a few moments, but not as a genre, I would argue) -, but it is none of these things exclusively and drops back and forth just like the reality that Natalie Portman portrays. The psychology of what we are shown (whether real or fiction) was a primary plot driven device that worked at each step. Again, the acting was top-notch. Natalie Portman keeps getting many praise, but I though Mila Kunis was just as phenomenal (best thing she has ever done, period – esp. after Book of Eli!). Overall, see this film, if not just for the experience. I think people who went to see it and hate it had the concept of a ballet (Swan Lake) in their mind, and the film is not about ballet, it’s about downward spiral and taking the traditional look of “trying to find light, in a dark world” to trying to find the darkness in the light, which was done very intelligently. I find the more I talk about the film, the more I enjoy it, so it really is a film you process and think about. It gets a high rating for not specifically being an 8 star movie, but for the thought, intention, concept, and ability to push genre beyond it’s normal limits.
