Black Swan- A Review

The films of Darren Aronofsky all have one theme in common: obssession. In the case of Swan, perfection is what the lead, Nina Sayers, is obssessed with. What's so interesting here is that I haven't quite seen anything like this film. The subject of ballet infused with dopplegangers, and psychological transformation makes for striking cinema. In the end, the theme may be direct but the visuals are anything but. It's the synthesis of the visual elements that makes it enticing.

Aronofsky might be recycling a few cliches (i.e. the overbearing mother-daughter complex). But given the stellar performances of both Natalie Portman and Barbara Hershey, he is able to reinvigorate them with a fresh coat of paint. The director is no stranger to having strong female performances, as evidenced in Requiem For A Dream. Along with them comes a source of raw intensity that is apparent in the visuals just as much as it is in the performances.

As Nina is run through a gauntlet of competion & finds her patience (& sanity) slipping, the rope tightens ever so slowly. There's one shot of Nina walking toward her ballet studio with her hair all neat. Around the 3/4 mark of the film, Aronofsky employs the same shot but this time it's night and her hair is not so pretty. It's a telling shot that shows how close to the edge Nina is. Black Swan starts off with subdued realism and slowly morphs into psychological horror. This is the closest Aronofsky has come to full on horror. Yet it's effects are more terrifying than most horror films I've seen recently.

The visceral excitement of it all kept me pinned to my seat and fufilled me both cerebrally and emotionally. The final twenty minutes of it is downright breathtaking. All leading up to the last words of the film which appropriately ties things up in a way yet leaves one with some ambiguity. I can't quite tell you what the film means to me because it's one I'm still working on to fully grasp. Still thinking about this one.










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Some other thoughts on the previews:

I haven't quite gotten an intangible feeling of awe from a trailer in quite some time. All that changed when I saw Terrence Malick's Tree of Life trailer attached to this film. It's been at the top of my most anticipated films list for a while & after seeing this trailer it doesn't look like the list is changing.

Bring On the Swan!

Snapshots 02: "I've worn lots of shoes."

Coming Attractions: Fall Season

Also anticpating:
Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life- This is at the top of my list and has been for a while. Premise: the tale of a Midwestern boy's journey from the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as a "lost soul in the modern world", and his quest to regain meaning in life.

True Grit- The Coen Brothers do a western. 'Nuff said. Release date: 12/25. As good a Christmas present as any I'll receive this year.

The Wrestler review

One of the most poignant and heartfelt quotes I've heard from a film in a LONG time that completely sums up Rourke's character is "The only time I get hurt it out there [outside the ring]." That quote rings true throughout the film as he tries to reconnect with his daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood. He also tries to connect with a stripper played by Marisa Tomei. Both of them perform in front of a crowd and both have professions which are not taken seriously by the general public.

As a wrestling fan, I have been told so many times "Wrestling is fake. They're acting." Well, the punches and kicks are fake and the whole role playing is acting indeed.
But how does one learn how to take a chair shot or get thrown through glass? You don't. And that's what the film portrays so authentically.

What Mickey Rourke does with this performance is amazing. He's not playing Randy "The Ram" Robinson...he IS The Ram. It's what Daniel Day Lewis did with last year with There Will Be Blood.

The director, Darren Aronofsky, whose previous works include Pi, Requiem For A Dream and The Fountain has proven to be absolutely fearless when it comes to portraying a character. Not many directors would want to take the route that Aronofsky did at the end of Requiem For A Dream and I applaud him for his honest character portrayals. The filmmaking here is very much in the vein of John Cassavetes. Character driven, many scenes being improvised and a very documentary feel to it all.

This film legitimizes what wrestlers do in the ring and the lasting effects it has not only on their bodies but on those close to them. Rourke's powerhouse performance is sure to get him an Oscar nod and he clearly deserves the win.