Black Swan is a psychological thriller that delves into the madness of a prima ballerina as she strives for perfection. Natalie Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a dancer with the New York City Ballet who has just been cast as the lead in the company's production of Swan Lake. To successfully inhabit this dance role , Sayers must perform as both the vulnerable White Swan and the seductive Black Swan. Sayers' own meek personality naturally fits into the role of one but she struggles greatly with her attempts to portray the other. A newcomer (played by Mila Kunis) joins the company and rivals Sayers for the role. For the rival Lily, playing the provocative Black Swan comes all too naturally. Throughout the film Sayers endures rigorous rehearsals, bullying from her director and smothering support from her dance obsessed mother. In the end, Nina's desire to prove to everyone that she can perfect this role pushes her to a very extreme transformation.
I like psychological thrillers. And I've enjoyed some strange psychological thrillers in the past (like a Cronenberg film.) But there were several things about this strange thriller that didn't sit right with me. For starters, I'd read Nataile Portman did her own dancing in the movie and in the first scene I found her ballet abilities lacking. Even though her quality of dance improved as the film progressed, it took me awhile to accept Portman's character as a contender for prima ballerina.
Once the Swan Lake lead role was cast and we watched as Portman's character struggled to perfect it, everything about the movie then became weird. There was never any knowledge as to what was real or what was being projected from Nina Sayer's deepening twisted mind. Although I realised this was an important part of the film's narrative, it just started to get irritating. Instead of focusing on the intensifying dynamics between the characters, I found myself guessing which ones, if any, truly existed - which events, if any, truly occurred. And then eventually, I just stopped caring. - Cut to the scene where Nina pulls a piece of bird feather out of her scabbed shoulder blade and I can't wait for it to all be over.
Finally, the ending for me was just way too over the top. Some people liked the dramatic climax to the story (many have reviewed this film favourably) but I'm just not one of them. Bizarre, bizarre, bizarre is all I can say. And in the end, after a couple of hours of watching Nina Sayers trying to tend to her sexual frustrations, I was left wondering why I was watching a movie about an uptight young woman who wanted to be a bird.
Although this film is not one of my favourites, I cannot deny the acting was impressive. Natalie Portman is extremely convincing as the intensely driven ballerina who desperately wants to 'let herself go'. Mila Kunis is getting much acknowledgement for her role in the film as well and even though I do believe she's come a long way since That Seventies Show, I was more impressed with Barbara Hershey's performance as Portman's over-bearing mother and Winona Ryder's short but intense screen time as the ousted prima ballerina.
Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a movie like Black Swan when I watched it. Although I could appreciate the film, I just couldn't enjoy it. The film is getting critical acclaim and has received some Oscar nominations. And if you have an interest in dance or are curious about the bizarre nature of the movie, I say go and see it. Otherwise, I would suggest that instead of seeing Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, you rent his 2008 film The Wrestler. In my opinion, it is a superior film about the dark world that can be inhabited by an entertainer.
No comments:
Post a Comment