tulhamano

(2012-05-02 04:02:49)

A master-piece-of-trash

First of all gave it a 5 because I only give 4 or less to "amateur"movies.You start the movie with high expectations from the reviews and thecritics, you read something about a character that has to find her"dark" side to play a role, and change her personality, even thoughyou're not a big fan of ballet, you see the reviews and Oscars, and yougive it a try expecting at least, if not something of your type,something of high quality, or some emotionally strong drama.Let me tell you what I saw in this movie, a (pretty) woman with thesame expression the entire movie, throwing up every 5 minutes,bleeding, ripping some skin or showing her rash every 2 minutes, andhaving hallucinations every 5 seconds. Thats how amazing this movie is."Her facial expression never varies from sad, purse-mouthed and leakyeyed. I got so tired of looking at her face and it is shown just aboutall the time." said another reviewer (in words I hardly understand),well I hope this is not a spoiler, but basically thats what you willsee the entire movie: her face! and even thou she is pretty it can bevery annoying and at some point you might feel some desire to slap her.So basically for me, this movie has hardly any positive points, besideskeeping you waiting for some interesting moment that never comes, it isa succession of confusing, meaningless scenes, that sometimes resemblea horror movie, very based in all the clichГѓВ©s and as the movie goes onstarts becoming more like a comedy. No substance, no emotional depth,no strong/well-built characters, no point. Even visually this moviefails.Like i read somewhere "pretentious garbage" is a nice way to describeit, but of course, you add some classical music mix it with someballet, wrap it all up with a lot of cheap sex, and all the so called"intellectuals" can only call it a sublime masterpiece, or else theywill probably be expelled from the so-called-intellectuals club. Thismovie shows very small traces of intelligence, and I don't mean tosound arrogant.Avoid it, either you into ballet or not, in all honesty it is not aterrible movie, is decent, but is definitely a waste of time, and themost overrated movie of 2011 along with Inception (no wonder I saw bothon the same list of the best 3 movies).

jubal harshaw

(2012-05-01 14:54:24)

This is what a pretentious piece of crap looks like when decorated with cheap glitter

Everything about this movie is fake, kitschy and cheap. It feels likethose Swarowsky pieces of glass that are being passed around as if theyhave some value. Or, maybe, like their Chinese copies.The production is cheap and sophomoric. Nobody from the team has donetheir homework.The script is plain, talentless, boring and flat as a two-week oldbeer. Don't take my word for it, look at how pathetic the "memorablequotes" in threads on the board are.The cinematographic tricks that are used are blunt, dense, kitschy andtrite (pictures with moving eyes, snapping legs, bad makeup, randomfrights, slashery and gore, gratuitous lesbian sex, little dancing buta lot of hand-waving). B-grade horror stuff. The plot concept is a failed mix of horror and psycho thriller thatdoes a perfunctory, trite and purposefully trashy (perverted mom,abusive boss with personality out of a porn film, meek and crazyprotagonist that suffers, the end) rendering of the Swan Lake story. The presentation of the ballet world as something that doesn't come outof talent, professionalism and hard work but is, rather, a mix ofborderline crazy and drugs is kitschy, superficial and quite wrong. The computer graphics are kind of crappy and purposeless, but stillbetter than everything else. They "make" the film for those people oflesser taste who like it.The performances are shallow, without shades, unconvincing andforgettable, on par with the rest. Portman is plain and one-dimensionalas usual, with the same soon-to cry expression all the way. The othergirl has a great body, but that's about all she shows in terms ofacting ability. The character of the manager is copied almost verbatimfrom an 80s porn exploitation "feature". Too bad this Cassel guy is nomatch for Johny C. Holmes.Even what should have been a nerdgasm-inducing scene -- erm, you knowwhich one -- is a total fizzle, artistically. Being straight, I can'treally appreciate its erotic component.And don't even start me on the mirrors and the other "symbolism".Geez, I want my 2 hours back. Absolutely no reason to see it.The only redeeming quality is Tchaikovsky's music - hence 2 points. Butwhat abuse of it this movie is!

Akis77

(2012-05-01 18:00:01)

When the last picture started fading...

...i caught my hands still shaking and myself wanting to stand up andstart clapping. some people were giggling and I was furious insidebecause I thought it was so disrespectful.Black Swan is one of the best films I've ever seen. The directing wasimpetuous, artful, powerful. Natalie Portman was just BREATH-TAKING.I'm still in AWE. Seriously. Her performance was almost unreal. I thinkit's safe to say it was the best acting by a female I have everwitnessed. All in all the movie is a work of art. It would be an insultnot to go watch it on the big screen.Even if some scenes were a bit over the top, maybe there were just fewhorror elements too much included for my taste...oh yeah and thestartling explicit bedroom-scene after the clubbing... it still remainsa definite 10 out of 10 and a must watch for anybody claiming to be aconnoisseur of cinema! thank you for your attention.

(2012-05-01 03:00:07)

for sure: simply captivating

It is about a ballerina, but about so much more. A triller. A drama. A touch of the unforbidden. A touch of a troubled upbringing. I have watched this and have discussed this movie with others and we all found is so captivating in many ways - but it would not be for all. I usually let my daugher watch almost anything, I am quite liberal, but would not let this one get through - no way!! But for a mature audience, slightly aged, great. Non dancers and non ballet fans will also enjoy this. It is simply a captivating movie.

i_love_chaos

(2012-04-27 02:28:05)

Aronofsky has done it again

This extraordinary masterpiece had me captivated from the first minuteright through to the end of the film. Now for all of you just expectingto see a light hearted ballerina flick then you are very wrong. Ihav'nt seen Natalie Portman act as good as this ever, although she wasbrilliant in Leon and V For Vendetta. Mila Kunis has also shown firstrate acting and Vincent Cassell was brilliant too as the strictballerina teacher. Darren Aronofsky is becoming one of my favouritedirectors of all time, he hasn't made a bad film yet.Maybe people might of heard that this film starts off really slow buttrust me its not. The film is just setting itself up and introducingcharacters and mood. Expect to be shocked by startling scenes withextreme originality and surreal undertones. Certain parts of this filmeven gave me sweaty palms, its that intense. This film will leavetraces of itself in my mind for many years to come and would considerit to be one of the greatest films of the past 10 years.Natalie Portman deserves every award thats coming to her and the filmshould definitely have a run in for best film and best director. AMASTERPIECE 10/10.......J.D Seaton

jcnsoflorida

(2012-04-26 11:49:24)

Best Zeitgeist Picture of 2010

There are those who malign BS as trashy and hysterical, and it's hardto argue that it isn't. But if you can see past that, this film tapsinto the here and now like few others. (The Social Network, of course,is a Zeitgeist movie, and a good one). Specifically, BS is renderedalmost exclusively from Nina's point of view, and she is basicallyliving in a pressure cooker. That said, I think viewers often thinkfilms with artistic pretensions have to be taken seriously at alltimes. Not really. Often, art films are 'saved' by flashes of humor.And BS is a fairly rare hybrid of an art film that is highly commercialas well. Few films since the late 60s are as on point in theart/commercial sense as BS. Many are the films that have tried for theRosemary's Baby thing. Finally, the Polanski award goes to ...Aronofsky.

MadMax1984

(2012-04-26 04:57:58)

Brilliant! An indirect lesson to Brian DePalma!

Black Swan, when I went to see it I expected of course quality becauseof Darren Aronofsky's seal and also characters being tortured by hisown demons, but never imagined it was also a psychological horror movieso well crafted, which personally it's one of the best I ever seen.Aronofsky's past movies have been (without any doubt) a criticalsuccess, but they never thrill me as this one, possibly only 'Pi' andthat's it, 'The Fountain' is a very depressing ride as well as 'RequiemFor A Dream'.The cinematography, acting and most of all 'coordination' is what makesit brilliant and the added surrealism makes it more intriguing, whichis a kind of movie that suits perfect to the Brian DePalma's style, aswe can see many of his trademarks in this one, like 'throwing bloodyknifes on elevators', 'alucinations or vivid dreams', 'eroticism' and'close-up styles'. OK, no more spoilers.I'm a big fan of Brian DePalma's psychological horror movies (even bador good) like 'Dressed To Kill', 'Carrie', 'Raising Cain', butAronofsky should be giving lessons to him.This is the kind of genre that have been long forgotten, mildly revivedwith 'Shutter Island', but a genre that can be exploited in many fieldsbut I think the audience has opted for less complex plots. Enough ofscreams or tons of blood! This is art.

khan2705

(2012-04-25 18:49:19)

Simply a Masterpiece.

A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet,BLACK SWAN stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who findsherself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at thecompany (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionarydirector Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER), BLACK SWAN takes a thrillingand at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerinawhose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be apart for which she becomes frighteningly perfect. BLACK SWAN followsthe story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City balletcompany whose life, like all those in her profession, is completelyconsumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica(Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter,s professionalambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decidesto replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for theopening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his firstchoice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), whoimpresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play boththe White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, whorepresents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan roleperfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the twoyoung dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Ninabegins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness thatthreatens to destroy her.what expectations i had from this movie, from the actors and othertechnical things this movie not just met it but completely exceededthem. i can't believe that a movie like this can come in some ones mindjust like i think of INCEPTION. it is ONE of the very BEST MOVIES OFTHE YEAR. one of the best movies ever ever ever. i can honestly saythis, If there wasn't any The Social Network or The King's Speech, thismovie may have been the second horror movie after The Silence Of theLambs to have won Best Film Oscar in the History, but there is a greatcompetition this year, still all the best to this movie.i don't know would i be able to finally talk about this movie or not, imean i am completely in a strange mood, i have so many things to saythat i am forgetting many things right now. lol. This movie is beingrecognized as one of the best movies and is being nominated and iswinning in almost all of the Cities' Circle Awards. it has a verybright future on the Oscar platform and way beyond. a memorable movie,completely unforgettable. a movie to remember.i was completely in shocked after i saw this movie, still the movieeffect is on me. this utter masterclass masterpiece movie Directed bynow one of my most favorite Directors Darren Aronofsky is a InstantClassic. a Ballet movie like no other. excellent direction. amasterclass Direction. every little detail in the movie have beenhandled by him with very beautifully and delicacy. you can see it foryourself what great piece of artistic achievement it is and the greatman behind it is Mr Aronofsky. excellent, outstanding direction.Screenplay is extremely melodramatic and very gritty gripping. you willfeel like you are watching some silly spy or silly action thriller onthe whole as i was completely glued to the edge of the seat ride withsome scenes that made me jump and creeped the utter most hell out ofme. superb screenplay and plot. very refreshing and different story.the whole movie and the play Swan lake in it, so similar in strangeway. Editing is excellent too.Right from the start till the end, its a complete package. the openingsequence alone makes it an outstanding movie and one of the best. andthe end is shocking, extremely shocking. it is the movie of the decade, along with some others (see i am not over rating it).Some scenes in the movie are very creepy and dark and scary that i haveto remind myself that it is just a movie. i was very scared and creepedout which, no horror movie made me feel before. very brutal and mindblasting scenes.Talking about performances, again excellent, Two thumbs way high up inthe sky for it. Natalie Portman's career topping, career best dazzling,killer and completely shockingly mesmirizing Tour de Force performance.She deserves the Oscar so bad, i don't see any other Actress deservingit more than her. she gives a dazzling, outstanding and heartbreakingat the same time heart warming performance. she is the one. amazing.Vincent cassel was awesome too, he played his role very well thatarrogant ballet teacher. talking about supporting actors, they are justperfect too i mean i am so confused, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey orWinona Ryder? who was the best? everyone did an excellent job. Mila isso young and graceful, star making performance and a sheer bright andyoung spark. the other two were good too. on the acting front too alongwith writing and direction, this is fantastic.Coming to the technical terms, one of the best Art Direction, CostumeDesign, Background Score and Cinematography this year. every dress thatis shown whether the performances one or the real life it is exquisite.dazzling and eye popping Art direction, carefully handled the verylittle details. a dazzling masterpiece. the dance sequences aremindblowing, they have been done brilliantly with great perfection, thecamera work, the dancers, Choreography or whatever i mean just perfect.i love it.

Ankhenaten91

(2012-04-24 18:37:12)

Not a bad film but overrated

I was excited to finally see this film, I had a mild desire to see itin theaters but never got around to it. I rented it at Redbox and amhappy I finally got around to it and to see what the buzz was about.In my years as a very big movie fan I have seen a lot of very goodmovies and a lot of movies while good aren't particularly moving forwhatever reason. Either it is because of poor direction or a script oracting it just doesn't always come together for me. This is one ofthose times.First off, let me say that this is not a bad movie, it is however not agreat one either. It is however technically very sound, thecinematography is fine, the score is effective and the lighting isgood. Editing is not an issue here but what is the issue for me is anoverall lack of soul that I continue to find in the work of DarrenAronofsky's work. The parts are all there to be good and overallproduct just doesn't seem to come together for me. Maybe it's his useof the camera and it's bouncing around that is intended to make theviewer feel like they are with the characters and in my case did theexact opposite.Natalie Portman does a fine job in this role. Her character is sostunted from her overbearing mother and her obsessive need to be agreat dancer that she has no friends and no life outside of her selfmade shell of a life. Mila Kunis in a very interesting role plays Lillythe yang to Portman's Yin and representation of all of the repressionthat that overwhelmed her, a physical embodiment of all that Nina haschosen not to experience.I found the most interesting character to be the role of the balletdirector Thomas. He is self assured, cocky and a great manipulator,both professionally and personally. His role is well acted by VincentCasell and is the most entertaining character in the film. Watching himtry to pull the vigor and emotion from Portman's Nina and his attemptsto seduce her are the most interesting thing in the movie.The film ranges from melodrama to thriller and almost borders on horrorin a few parts. It goes from straight forward storytelling and as thefilm progresses it attempts to show the loss of sanity of Nina becomesmore and more surreal and the effect is uneven at best.My thoughts have always been that Aronofsky is a sound director butnever very moving. Good but not great, he doesn't elevate the materialhe touches but I don't feel he brings it down either. A fine movie butonce the credits roll it is not haunting and not all that memorable.

(2012-04-24 11:34:53)

Confusing as all get out

The very basic plot is about Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) trying to prove that she can play the role of the Swan Queen in the next upcoming play. She has the tools to be the good half of the Swan Queen but the instructor played by Vincent Cassell is skeptical about Nina's ability to be dark and seductive. But beyond that it's hard to describe what exactly is going on because it's a very intriguing yet difficult movie to understand and on top of that can take on many different interpretations. What some people believe is nothing more than a dream or a hallucination, others might watch the movie and say that Lily (Mila Kunis) is Nina's doppelganger and watch the events unfold as real events and not a dream. Either way this movie is deep, confusing, and it's one of those movies that you can watch twelve times and still have many unanswered questions but discover something new that you didn't notice the first time.The rumors you hear about a lesbian sex scene are true to a certain extent -- nothing to graphic but an interesting scene nonetheless. But the scene when Nina is alone touching herself was borderline jaw-droppingly good. Natalie Portman deserved the Oscar that she received but I will say that everyone involved did a great job on their parts! And it's also clear that Darren Aronofsky has a talent for creating dark, intellectual movies that are fascinating and well depicted on film. I graded this movie as 3.5 stars out of 5.

shirleykernan-1

(2012-04-17 12:42:56)

Ballerina spirals out of control with so-so results

Darren Aronofsky's latest foray into the agitated mind of aperfectionist seems to have divided film goers down the middle. Somehave lauded it as a top thriller/horror while others have deemed itmore schlocky than shock and a real let down after The Wrestler. Thistime, instead of Mickey Rourke's ageing wrestler sacrificing body andmind to desperately cling onto fame, we have Natalie Portman'sambitious-to-the- death ballerina's descent into madness, all in thename of the spotlight.Portman, who has visibly put herself through the paces to get into theskinny, taut body of a young ballerina, plays Nina Sayers - a mummy'sgirl dancer who has put everything, friendships, boys, growing up, onhold to achieve her ambition of becoming principle dancer in her NewYork ballet company. Her dream comes within grasp when lead ballerina,the gorgeously deranged Beth (Winona Ryder) is put out to pasture andartistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel on mean, moody Frenchmanmode, as per) casts his net for someone to play the lead in a newproduction of Swan Lake.That's when the real fun begins. Angelic Beth-wannabe Nina seems to bea shoe-in for the role of the virginal White Swan – but does themollycoddled little princess have the necessary darkness to play theevil Black Swan? Especially when new competition, bad girl dancer Lily(Mila Kunis hamming it up wonderfully as the femme fatale), arrives onthe scene in a fog of drugs and sultry looks. From the beginning, Black Swan enjoys teasing the viewer, playing outits twists and turns with relish – from Nina tearing at her own fleshin grisly detail through to the horror staple of having charactersappear suddenly in a darkened corner. Yip, watching Nina unravel provesto be pretty compulsive viewing, even if you are trying to hide youreyes for the bloodier scenes. This Black Swan doesn't pull her punches.She teases, she bites, she claws and slowly, uncertainly she loses hermind, bringing us along for the ride. She also, however; takes herselfa little too seriously.Portman obviously threw herself heart and soul into this role butintensity be-damned, Nina is just too twee to really engage with. Allthose teddies and pink and frilly cakes and mousiness. No wonder noneof the other dancers want to befriend her, she's a right oddball, likea female version of Norman Bates. And not in an interesting way either.In fact, Nina's so cutesy that when anything remotely untoward doeshappen, it's giggle inducing - which doesn't just reduce the tension,it deflates it. Like the scene where Nina is in bed and realisesmummy's asleep in the chair beside her? Titter, titter. All in all, Black Swan isn't a bad yarn; if anything it will certainlykeep you guessing until its bittersweet end. You just probably won'twant to bother with it a second time.*It gets an extra 0.5 point for the fantastic make-up job on the BlackSwan.

Jonny Fendi

(2012-04-17 01:20:14)

It Was Perfect

The little girl in "Leon: The Professional" (1994) has grown up now.Natalie Portman is at her peak performance so far. Team up with heavycaliber Director Darren Aronofsky, they made a beautiful story buthorrifying at the same time. Aronofsky is invincible, especially whenhe explores human desperation, like in his previous films "Requiem fora Dream" (2000), "The Fountain" (2006) and "The Wrestler" (2008). Forabout 100 minutes of the movie, I felt like I was experiencing thetheater performance, not just like a common movie. It's filled withbeautiful images and great orchestra. Nina (Portman) is a chosenballerina to fulfil her dual roles all at once, to be irresistibleinnocent white swan and also to become seductive evil black swan.Slowly but sure, the darker side of black swan absorbs her real life. Ilove the brilliant cinematography. Aronofsky seems to use twotechniques of camera work. The first is for the long shot, he usessteady conventional method. And the second for the close up, heutilizes shaky hand-held camera. I have ever said before that hand-heldcamera is modern technique in today cinematic world. Not only foraction, but recently for drama as well, hand-held camera is able toeffectively drag you into the middle of ongoing situation, if you arenot using hand-held camera, you are outdated now. The performers areeffectively suitable. Vincent Cassel is fit for provocative andambitious ballet instructor. Mila Kunis is fit for seductive andambitious Nina's colleague. Barbara Hershey is fit for authoritarianand ambitious mother. And even a brief but impressive appearance byWinona Ryder as anxious and ambitious competitor. Yeah, it is all aboutthe ambition and you can see it in each character. All of them havetheir own ambition. However, the star of all stars above is Portman.She shows her darker side successfully, you could literally feel herpain, pressure and paranoia situation. The movie becomes moremysterious with some unusual sex scenes. For the last half hour of filmduration, she drives us into beautiful but ironic condition, sometimesabsurdity become the part of it. Those last scenes are extremelyterrifying, with broken fingernail, peeling skin and fractured bone forthe elements. I almost could categorize thiz movie as a horror movie.The movie emphasizes in every beauty of ballet, there is a dark sidethat we never know before. Finally, I just want to say, "It wasperfect".Visit My Blog on JONNY'S MOVEE : http://jonnyfendi.blogspot.com

Alexandra S. Burns

(2012-04-07 13:03:30)

Madness of Sanity and Beauty of Darkness: Black Swan Has it All.

"Black Swan" is brilliantly disturbing. Centered around Nina Sayers,played by Natalie Portman, an intense psychological bond forms betweenviewer and dancer and dancer and role. The film follows Nina's journeyfrom casting to performance, and we are exposed to every moment of herjourney, private, public, real, and imaginary.Although the film has been advertised by the face of a "troubledballerina" - just take one glance at the crazed expression on thatposter - I was surprised to find that the "Black Swan" persona is onethat Nina struggles to achieve. The Nina we see in the beginning is"mad" only in the way that any blindly driven overachiever is - and toan audience with madness in mind, Nina's initial state is aninteresting reflection on how we might define "madness" in general.The pure "white" Nina we meet at the start, the one in pale pink and afluffy white scarf, elegant and obsessed with technical detail,struggles with the concept of "perfection," a state of performance sheaims to reach that, she is told, can only be found by letting loose.Portman's performance is utterly convincing. Pure, naive, confused -Nina doesn't quite get it and we can see from Portman's slightlyfurrowed brow and the occasional stifled gasp of horror. Supportingstandout performances include Mila Kunis as the exotic and attractiveLily, whom Nina seems to love and hate simultaneously, and VincentCassel the slightly invasive yet effective ballet instructor ThomasLeroy.Nina's mother Erica Sayers, played by Barbara Hershey is delightfullyhate-able, as she should be. Despite the character's creepy level ofinvolvement in her grown-up daughter's life, this overbearing mother isthe only one who notices that there is something wrong with Nina. Ericatreads the thin line between caring and controlling enough that sheinvokes sympathy rather than pure hatred.The soundtrack, which includes sequences from "Swan Lake" playedbackwards with modifications (thank you, IMDb trivia), is not only acreative detail but an effective addition to the film. Despite itsbrilliance however, it is the silent moments that are most effective,as such minor noises as ballet shoes tapping on the floor create anatmosphere of precise stillness.The cinematic tone of the film through camera angles and general visualdarkness is sleepy and dreamlike, which comes to make more and moresense as the images and events become more fantasy-like and it becomesunclear what is real and what is Nina's hallucinations.Overall, the film is about transformation - for Nina, transformationinto the "perfect" ballerina. Certain parallels to "Swan Lake" areundeniably obvious. Lily's bad-ass persona complete with dark tattooacross her back instantly labels her as the epitome of the Black Swan,and her lending Nina a black top at the party clearly represents Nina'stransition towards embodying that persona herself.Other attempts are symbolism are more confusing, such as thesignificance of Nina's random tendency to bleed, which is neverspecifically explained. Strange transformations such as the webbed toesmake sense, but the only symbolic explanation I can think of for thebleeding is that it represents her personal sacrifice for ballet, whichseems too nonspecific."Black Swan" is to its audience as "Swan Lake" is to Nina - bothcapture their subjects and lure them into an uncomfortable, personal,and beautiful understanding of what it takes to push the boundariesmake great art.

lesburton

(2012-04-07 04:03:14)

Masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!

Darren Aronofsky completely blew me away with this fine piece ofcinema. I thought that his previous work was very impressive. Thismovie, for me, just pushed him into another stratosphere of filmmaking. The only thing about this movie that kinda bothers me is thatit ends, depending on how you viewed "The Wrestler," the same way. Thatis only a very small detail though. Overall, I was left virtuallyspeechless after leaving the big screen. If this doesn't win BestPicture and Natalie Portman doesn't win best Actress then I think theyreally misjudged it. Everything thing about this movie was beautiful.The camera angles were signature Aronofsky with little tweaking inactual technique. The mood is nothing that I wouldn't expect from anAronofsky film, dark and disturbing with a hint of borderline, Horrorelements to it. It's truly not a Ballet film for the faint of heart. Isuggest watching this movie and simply, be amazed.

(2012-04-05 04:12:57)

Good but not great!

The acting was spectacular, but I rated this a 3 because I thought that it was too dark! This movie is very subjective...either you like it or you don't! I was impressed with the acting, but I did not like the darkness of the story. The movie was very disturbing to me.

Vishal_s_kumar

(2012-04-04 10:07:09)

Black or white, love it or hate it, it is one of the best.

It makes sense that Black Swan has provoked such a divisive response inviewers; the film itself seems to be a contradiction, a melodramaticmix of art-house ideas and psychosexual thrills. The influence ofseveral predecessors looms shadow-like over Black Swan, from AlfredHitchcock and Roman Polanski, to David Cronenberg and David Lynch—allfilmmakers who have balanced "genre" elements with higher philosophicalpursuits. Comparatively, Aronofsky's film is shifted more toward thecommercial end of that particular scale—it tends to be obvious where abetter film would be ambiguous—but Black Swan is still a brazen, daringpiece of work, the kind that doesn't often make its way to themultiplex.At the film's heart is Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake: "We all know thestory," says Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), the swaggering director ofthe New York City Ballet. "Virginal girl, pure and sweet, trapped inthe body of a swan. She desires freedom but only true love can breakthe spell. Her wish is nearly granted in the form of a prince, butbefore he can declare his love, her lustful twin, the black swan,tricks and seduces him. Devastated, the white swan leaps off a cliff,killing herself and, in death, finds freedom." Thomas intends to starthis new season with a "visceral" and "real" reinterpretation of thetale, but he needs a star ballerina capable of embodying both the WhiteSwan's innocence and her dark twin's wanton abandon.Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) desperately wants the role—in the openingscene, we see her dreaming about it—and as Thomas puts it, "If I wasonly casting the White Swan, she would be yours. But I'm not." Nina istoo wholesome by half, a sexually-stunted dancer who has devoted herlife to her craft, practicing perfect technique but never losingherself in the movements. She still lives with her overbearing stagemother (Barbara Hershey)—a resentful former ballerina who livesvicariously through her daughter—and she sleeps in a doll- infested,powder-pink bedroom. It's the room of a girl, not a woman, and it sayseverything about her. Nina claims she's not a virgin, but we have ahard time buying that. Still, Thomas sees some "bite" in Nina and givesher the part, convinced he can coax out her dark side. Known for havingstormy intimate relations with his lead dancers, Thomas is a mastermanipulator, using seduction and withholding to get the results hedesires on the stage. His first direction to Nina is grounds for asexual harassment suit: "I have a little homework assignment for you.Go home and touch yourself. Live a little."By casting Nina in the lead role of Odette, the swan princess, Thomasdisplaces the dance troupe's former star, Beth (Winona Ryder), an agingprima-donna who refuses to go gently into retirement. He also nurturesa strategic rivalry between Nina and her understudy, Lily (Mila Kunis),a dark-haired nymphet who personifies the Black Swan's animal-likelust. She likes her meat bloody, she's a shameless flirt, and she evenhas a set of black wings tattooed across her shoulders. (Yes, Kunis andPortman do share a sex scene that's simultaneously hot and terrifying,bringing new meaning to the phrase "it'll scare you stiff.") At first,this may seem like just another backstage dance drama with all theconventional elements— competition and ambition, jealousy andbackstabbing—but Nina's real conflict is progressively with her ownever-fracturing psyche.The film is told exclusively from her perspective—she's in everyscene—and we quickly suspect that she may not be a completely reliablenarrator. The hints start small. Nina picks compulsively at herhangnail-ravaged fingers and scratches a nasty rash on her back; onesecond she's bleeding from these wounds, but when she looks again,there's no blood, no torn skin. It escalates. Nina begins to seeflashes of her own dark doppelganger, a mysterious, highly sensualversion of herself. Like the similarly sexually infant woman played byCatherine Deneuve in Polanski's Repulsion—the film that most influencesBlack Swan—Nina grows paranoid and unhinged, troubled by grim,anxiety-induced hallucinations. Her delusion becomes clear: she'sturning into the Black Swan. Mentally. Physically. Entirely.It's here that the film grows a little too literal minded. And thisspeaks to a larger problem that holds Black Swan back fromgreatness—for every evocative, emotionally nuanced scene, there'sanother with a cheap jump scare or some other trapping of thehorror/thriller genre. (A few are genuinely scary —and necessary—butothers seem like overkill.) Aronofsky uses the old "reflection thatmoves on its own in the mirror" trick no less than three times here, todiminishing effect. And this also dulls the film's symbolic use ofmirrors, which work as a feedback loop of narcissism and self-loathingfor unhealthily body-conscious ballerinas.Nonetheless, Black Swan is a haunting fable that has the power to hangover viewers like a shroud. It's Gothic and lacy, decadently surging onurges so repressed they've morphed into neuroses. It explores femalesexuality and ambition in uncommon ways, and it terrifies with afeathery variation on David Cronenberg's "The Fly". This is just thestory; I haven't even touched on the lush production design, theimpressive dance numbers, or the convincing performances. NataliePortman deserves her Oscar win for Best Actress; as Nina she'sbeautifully frail and panicked, a not-quite-woman who gives into thedarkness and pays the cost of artistic perfection. Mila Kunis issex-charged and smoky, Barbara Hershey makes an unsettlingly perfectbitter-but-loving parent, and Vincent Cassel gets a break from hisusual violent villain roles to play a masculine, eel-like impresario.This is Darren Aronofsky's best film since 2000's manic Requiem for aDream, and while he's yet to make a masterpiece, Black Swan certainlycomes closest.

seaofgiants

(2012-03-31 00:35:23)

Finally, Something Original From Hollywood

Finally, something I haven't seen before out of Hollywood! I'm so tiredof bad remakes, cartoon & superhero-based movies & unnecessary sequels.BLACK SWAN was awesome and kept me on the edge of my seat the entiretime wondering what happens next? Isn't that what a great movie issupposed to do? And just in a snap, two hours goes flying by and at theend, I wanted more.Natalie Portman deserved her Golden Globe. She was the perfect, sweet &demure ballerina from a lineage of ballerinas. She was convincingly the"good girl" or White Swan. But as we see the competition closes inaround her, and good girls are out and bad girls are in! Mila Kunisswoops in to steal her much deserved spotlight. But just because youdeserve it and put in the hours doesn't mean you will get it in thecrazy world of dancing! Natalie's character digs deep into crazy tofind her inner diva, the Black Swan.I can't wait to rent this film, because I'm sure that I missed somesubtle things happening in the background. There are subconscious"easter eggs" too -- like Natalie's wardrobe goes from whites & pinksto black. You may miss it, but her skin shutters too. The story alsoparallels the story of Swan Lake. So you can pick out each of the maincharacter's roles and who is playing which part.

Max_cinefilo89

(2012-03-30 12:32:15)

A nightmarish dance

Black Swan was one of the most anticipated movies of the 2010 VeniceFilm Festival (which is where I saw it), due to Darren Aronofsky'sGolden Lion victory two years earlier for The Wrestler. After itspremiere screening, on the opening night no less, it was met withconflicting reactions, ranging from sky-high praise to utterindifference, with some even calling it Aronofsky's worst picturealongside the hugely underrated The Fountain. Were such commentsdeserved? Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean Black Swan is amasterpiece either. In fact, it is fair to call it Aronofsky's leastaccomplished piece of work.Set in the very familiar (from Aronofsky's films, that is) contemporaryNew York, Black Sawn is a dark, psychological thriller about two women:Nina (Natalie Portman) and Lily (Mila Kunis). The former is a young,promising member of a local ballet company, which the latter hasrecently joined. When company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel)announces his next project is going to be a revival of Swan Lake, hestates that Nina is the ideal replacement for former star BethMacIntyre (Winona Ryder), who is about to retire due to her age.However, Nina has to prove herself worthy of the double role of thefair and innocent Swan Queen and the deceptive, seductive Black Swan,or she will also be replaced. Fearing Lily might steal her thunder,Nina grows more paranoid by the day, while also tapping into herrepressed sexuality to find her inner Black Swan.Despite the alleged "indie" tag (the film is distributed by FoxSearchlight, whose parent company previously financed The Fountain),Black Swan is very much a studio effort, with a budget that, whilerelatively low (13 million dollars), is more than the cost of Pi,Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler put together (The Fountain, on theother hand, remains Aronofsky's priciest picture). In fact, comparisonswith The Wrestler - the director himself has said the two movies arecompanion pieces - highlight where Black Swan derails: whereas theMickey Rourke-starring drama was a truly independent film, not tomention Aronofsky's best (and in no small measure because of hisdecision to let go of his usual directorial tricks), the balletthriller is a compromise between a studio product - evident in theclassic theme, akin to All About Eve, and the cast - and thefilmmaker's personal vision, which reverts to Requiem for a Dreamsensibilities for a story he didn't write himself.Not that it's necessarily a bad thing: in its most inspired moments,Black Swan is an exquisite picture, pulsating with life and filled withindelible, nightmarish images that showcase the heroine's gradualdescent into madness, all coordinated with beautiful choreography andimpeccable musical cues. Unfortunately, the second half proves to betoo weird for its own good, with a shift in tone that aims for visceralhorror - think Polanski mixed with early Cronenberg - but gets caughtup in some decidedly embarrassing moments, most notably the bulk ofscenes involving a hammy Barbara Hershey as Nina's overbearing mother.And yet it holds up until the end, and not just thanks to a lesbian sexscene that is bound to become a guilty pleasure lynch-pin. While thedirector's idiosyncrasies may get out of hand, his cast is fullycommitted and delivers solid work throughout (well, minus Hershey):Cassel is as enjoyably nasty as ever, and Kunis, who unexpectedly wonthe Mastroianni Award in Venice, finally sheds off the memory of MaxPayne and American Psycho 2 and establishes herself as a promisingdramatic actress. As for Portman, her schizophrenic role is one of thebravest she's ever tackled, and she remains a majestic, compellingpresence for the duration of the movie, while Ryder nearly manages tosteal her thunder with just a handful of scenes that ring scarily true:being herself in her late thirties during the shoot, the actress knowsall too well what it's like to risk becoming a has-been, and gives anangry, unforgettable performance that should get her an Oscar.Black Swan is a dazzling, spellbinding and frustrating picture. Tonallyuneven and occasionally self-indulgent, it nevertheless manages toseduce and intrigue and, at its best, reminds us that Aronofsky is oneof the most original and visionary names in contemporary Americancinema.

Nastya Beam

(2012-03-21 19:47:20)

I just wanna be perfect (c)

Before I even sat to watch the movie I was already biased against it,because I thought it was way too over-hyped and over-rated. EverywhereI went - I just heard the title of the movie. Such words as "genius","masterpiece" and people going OTT praising the movie immediately putme off. And I thought that liking this movie was something that's invogue now. And I hate jumping on the bandwagon. How wrong and stupid Iwas... First of all I was stunned with Natalie Portman's performance. I'venever seen an actress achieving such a variety of emotions in one movie- fear, despair, confidence, grace, etc. All the awards werewell-deserved. I never took her seriously always thinking that Leon isthe only movie worth-watching with her, as her other roles are prettyone-dimensional. By a clear mile - that's the best performance I'veseen in many years. The movie itself is a puzzle. And in the very end you finally find allthe pieces that belong. Nina (Natalie Portman) is a highly restrainedyoung girl. Her mother failed to be a great ballerina and wanted herdaughter to become one. That's why she tried to protect her from theouter world. And Nina turned into a scared, fragile virgin. And herrival Lily (Mila Kunis) is somebody she subconsciously wanted to be. Nina's haunted by hallucinations and persecution mania. She tries tolet go of all her inner insecurities. And we see that she finallysucceeds. But to do so - she had to literally kill the white swan inherself. The ending of the movie is quite ambiguous. We don't really know ifNina died in her quest for perfection or that blood was a symbolic,metaphorical demonstration of her becoming a confident woman. So it'scontroversial. Today I watched the movie for the third time. And every time it getsmore clear, I recognize more details. And now I'm even more upset thatit didn't get an Oscar. I mean - "The King's Speech"? Really?

(2012-03-21 17:40:03)

Swan Lake on the side of Psycho: Beautiful, magnificent strange cinema

There is nothing mundane or humdrum about "Black Swan"; whereas, previous Aronofsky films have been about domestic, familial relationships, for instance, that have been shattered into ruins due to drugs, death, or foolhardy choices in life, even what could be considered as ordinarily grounded in "Black Swan", say the behind the scenes production of the ballet, its world is still rife with biting cattiness and backstabbing; it really is anything but ordinary. Even removing the progressively deteriorating mental state of Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), the world of ballet is fodder for subjective subjunctives: I hope, I dream, I wish, etc., which have psychological underpinnings; exactly perfect for twisted, metaphysical endeavours. This extra-ordinariness could be an argument as to why there is a seemingly lack of that inherent raw, primal, naked emotion that is more or less subtle than usual that have governed Aronofsky's previous works: we don't really know who Nina is; we haven't been given enough time to really get to know her. Merely, as opposed to understanding her, we feel for her, we pity her, like a Greek god. Surely because it is by virtue of one of the main themes of the film: fragile mortal being attaining perfection. What comes off is a rather cold, off-putting experience; our heroine is merely a placeholder or a spokesperson, and not a grounded character, for the overly ambitious and dreamers in us. On the other hand, this 'coldness' is neither a part of criticism against the film nor a detriment to it; on the contrary, bitter, sharp, and chilly cold is actually its virtue: corresponding to Nina's fragile existence and crackling psyche, the film is erratic, schizoid, and discomforting; the film's fractured, unreliable point of view brings up Polanski's "Repulsion", and Lynch's "Mulholland Drive", as comparison. In addition, with the operatic, heightened bravura that Aronofsky creates, what we get is an intoxicating blend of the magnificent and the strange: the tragedy is not of a sentimental, emotional kind, but a grand, manic, glorious art that is at times, as you sit there completely enthralled under its spell, horrifying, transcendental, and draining. So fittingly enough, seeing this film from a point of view that looks at the work as almost an allegory or an abstraction makes it more rewarding. Regardless of how devoid it is with that surprising subtle Aronofsky sentiment that is all at once tender, sweet, and painful, "Black Swan" is a passionate, even bombastic, work that doesn't invite you in, it pulls you into it and swallows you whole. Natalie Portman's shockingly commanding, tragic performance, which should definitely garner her a statue or two come awards night, elevates this film into a higher level that could have been camp, sleazy, or ridiculous, but as testament to Aronofsky's talent and vision, comes out very beautiful; a graceful, elegant swirling mess of schizoid, psychotic paranoia that gleefully raises glass to the ever truthful adage: what separates the mediocre from the genius is the latter's willingness to embrace pain, even death. So one could perhaps forgive Aronofsky for not sprinkling "Black Swan" with moments to breath; scenes that allow for quiet, introspective, ethereal beauty that he is usually more than capable of. Instead, beauty here is glorious, ostentatious, and in your face, like Nina's delusion, or the showmanship of the art of ballet itself: it is never quiet, it is ceaselessly building up to its grand crescendo.In other words, "Black Swan", in its magnificent, glorious madness, is perfect.