Black Swan
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Year: 2010
Watched: 21/1/11
What the Fudge is it?
Nina (Portman) has been chosen to play the lead in Swan Lake. She is everything the white swan should be: innocent, elegant and beautiful. In order to play the black swan she must tap into her more sinister and sensual side. Ballet has never looked so cool.
What i Thought...
I feel that every time i go to review a film i like i almost give a little disclaimer to warn anyone reading that i love the director or actor or something like that. I was about to start writing one but i will try and stop. The hardest thing about reviewing Black Swan is avoiding other reviews. I have made a point of not listening to or reading reviews of any of the films i am writing about. I have only heard friends opinions on all of the film so i will be glad that i can finally sit down and listen to Mark Kermodes views on this film after a very very long wait......but first.
Its hard not to walk into Black Swan with some hype following you. We have been hearing about best actress, film and director nominations for ages. if you managed to avoid that you would still hear about lesbian scenes which is enough to pack out a Boro cinema on a Friday night. I was just really looking forward to seeing what Darren Aronofsky did after the wrestler.
I think it is going to be hard to structure this review as my head is filled with shit about the film so i will try my best, my biggest fear is leaving out something i loved as the more i think about it the more cool things pop into my head.
I have heard from alot of people that this film is "weird" and "shite". ive also heard "natalie portman was crap" and "natalie portman was amazing". I am all for opinions but at the end of it all i think mine is always right. I feel the film is getting very mixed feedback from people as they are expecting something different. Is it the main stream coverage the film is getting or the awards that is making them think they are walking into a crazy heart with ballet. This is a film by Darren Aronofsky! Do a little fucking research and realize that guy has made some weird shit. I loved the fountain, requiem, Pi and the wrestler so i knew i wasnt going to walk into a run of the mill movie.
The film follows the story of Nina a ballerina dancing with a New York dance company. With interest in recent shows the artistic director decides to inject some new blood into the company. Nina is chosen for the main role in swan lake. She is graceful and beautiful everything you need to be to play the white swan. Her artistic director urges her to get in touch with her dark side in order to play the black swan, a much more sexual and sinister character. as she explores her dark side she becomes more reckless and begins spiraling out of control. With competition from rival dancer Lily and the overbearing pressure of her mother Nina finds it harder and harder to maintain control and her sanity.
Portman is unbelievable, of course the story of Swan Lake and the transformation from innocent white swan into the black swan run through the film but it is most obvious in Portmans performance. She plays the part brilliantly and is well deserving of her Oscar. From a fragile and timid girl to a sexual and tormented woman we see her character literally shift as the film progresses. What is most impressive is she is on screen non stop. Much like Rourke in the wrestler this is driven by her performance. She is the leading lady and carrys the film from start to finish. This is not big loud over the top acting it is proper subtle acting over the span of the whole film. Its nice to seem an Oscar winner who hasn't played a minority, famous person or taken on a physical transformation to just make themselves ugly.
The film looks and sounds stunning. There were some lovely touches of sound in requiem for a dream and the wrestler and they have been topped in this. The cracking of toes and creaking of floor boards add to the suspense that this character, the world and the lives in it could fall apart at any given moment. The dancing looks fantastic! must like he did for wrestling Anonofsky gets close to the action and shows the beauty and risk of the ballet. Its never shown in a glamourous light we see the blood and sweat and tears that go into producing something so beautiful.
As the character of Nina explores the darker side of her personality the film shifts into an almost supernatural and psychological genre. There are a lot of shots that reminded me of the fly and american werewolf in its body transformation sequences. The body shock horror pieces are brilliant and disturbing. One fantastic scene will make you never want to pull a rag nail again.
Ninas relationship with her mother is a very odd one. It is never fully explored only implied but there is a definite Psycho feel. Barbara Hershey is fantastic as the over protective and slightly unhindged mother. The two are fantastic on screen together and the scenes again possess that uneasy feeling that at any given moment it could all boil over.
Given the nature of the black swan character it is inevitable that the film deals with sexuality and seduction. There are shades of exploitive sex that reminded me a lot of requiem for a dream. Yes there is the infamous lesbian scene but it isn't delivered in a smutty wild things manner. Even the sex is dealt with in a dark and disturbing way which was refreshing and added to the tension overall. its a great contrast to see the comparison of ballets purity and innocence against the smutty and sleazy view of sex that i last saw in requiem.
The whole film has a distinct feel which is similar to the wrestler. At points it almost feels like a documentary with the camera following Portman through her practices and routines. Dwelling on the smaller details of ballet like stretches, preparing etc. Just like the wrestler the film embraces the detail and takes the viewer into the world. There are narrative comparisons to the wrestler looking the physical and mental sacrifices it takes to be centre stage and be in the main event of your sport of choice.
I have banged on about Portman and Hersheys performances but the rest of the cast are also fantastic. Vincent Cassell is perfect as the passionate but slightly sinister creative director. Mila Kunis shakes off any views that she is only a comedic actress, the jealously between her and Portman looks and feel genuine. One of the real stand performance is Winona Ryder, her character Beth Macintyre acts as a great warning to the character of Nina. She is deeply tormented and now that her prima ballerina position has been taken by Nina she is filled with jealously and rage. Ryder is fantastic and really looks like a woman who is falling apart at the seems. Her character is a much more extreme version of the retired wrestlers randy the ram met at the autograph signing, a woman who made the physical and mental sacrifices to be at the top and now that it is gone she has nothing.
Overall just a fantastic cinema experience, hints of the fly, psycho, requiem and the wrestler. Natalie Portman is superb from start to finish, her acting in great but subtle. Great script and pacing along with fantastic direction.....everything this Darren fanboy needed.
Overall
Stunning! Dark, creepy, beautiful and scary all at the same time! Fantastic performances and directing. The best film i have seen in a long long time. Loved it from start to finish and i think it will be seen as an absolute classic.
5/5
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