All I have been hearing about lately is how great the Black Swan is. Whether hearing people brag about it on Twitter or hearing guys around the office talk about it, everywhere I went the Black Swan was all the rage. So this past weekend I decided to go see what all the fuss was about. Note that I had not seen the preview for this film. I had no clue what the movie was about. Regardless, we walked in and sat down with an open mind. When Natalie Portman showed up, I got excited. She is a pretty solid actress and I was ready for a treat with her in the lead role.
About half way through, I was unimpressed. The movie is nothing new. This story has been told before. It shows a lot of scenes with people dancing, both men and women; we have seen this time and time again. The ballet is never something I got into, but this film does do a good job of showing how hard these people work. From tying their shoelaces to stretching their muscles, the movie takes you deep into the life of a dancer.
One of my best girl friends is actually a dancer out in Las Vegas. I have never seen her dance (I’m not a very good friend apparently) and if she goes through a fraction of this, I feel bad for her. The hours are long, the stress is intense, and the talent is immense. Of course, this is a movie so I have no idea if this is what it’s like in real life.
New Characters Begin to Take Shape
You are quickly introduced to the mother, a former dancer, and apparent superstar. The daughter is trying her best to live up to what her mother once was. You are also introduced to some of the other dancers, one who craves attention and demands the spotlight. She is the wild child, staying out late, drinking, and having sex with any man (or woman) that she can get her hands on. She eventually plays a key role in the film, but I don’t want to spoil it for you if you have yet seen the movie.
Then the film starts to get weird. There are a handful of scenes that take your mind for a journey in to the unknown. What just happened? Who knows; you never really find out. It is left up to the imagination which gets irritating after a while. I heard one moviegoer say that the film, “took my mind on a roller coaster of emotion”. That is pretty accurate, but all along I kept thinking alternate reality, or perhaps a split personality was the cause for my confusion.
The film has a great soundtrack, and managed to keep my attention throughout even though I called the ending halfway through the film. The lead role, the dancer, is young, plays a perfect white swan, and but struggles to find the perfect black swan inside of her. She lands the lead role, can’t handle the pressure, yet tries to dig deeper than she has ever gone before. She pulls it off, but the ending to this film is quick, to the point, and hits you like a ton of bricks.
This film was decent at best. The story has been told before. But the acting saves it from being a waste of time. See it, but wait until it is on DVD. It’s not worth the money to see it in the theater. I give this film 3/5 stars, and the only reason it got that high of a rating is because of Natalie’s ability to put on a great performance. Even though I didn’t like the film, she deserves an award for her role as the lead swan.
You are out of your mind man. This movie was insane!
Insane is a good word for it. You are right; it was insane. But the story has been told before. It was nothing new, nothing that made me jump out of my seat. Good movie, thanks to the acting. I appreciate your comment though Tony!
I have to agree with Tony here. This movie was amazing. The acting, as you said, was good. But the ending. Whoa; the ending!
Thanks for your comment. I am glad that others have seen the value in the acting.
I have not seen the movie yet. I want to, but just have not been able to find the time. Thanks for posting this though. It is a good summary of the film. At least from what I can tell!
Go see it. Well, better yet, wait until it comes out on DVD. I hope I didn’t spoil too much there!
This movie was HORRIBLE. I honestly don’t know how anyone could have liked this crap. Argh!
I CAN’T WAIT to see this movie and as always… I’m sure I’ll disagree with you and think this movie is incredible. It already has one of my three most favorite actresses ever so I think highly of it already. I might have to knock it off my list this weekend and report back!
Oh I am sure you will love it. I am not saying it was a bad movie, but the story has been told before. The acting was great. But I had extremely high expectations based on what everyone was saying. It is not as confusing as the general population makes it out to be. The film is actually pretty straight forward. It’s dark, where I think some people might consider confusing. It’s not a typical blockbuster. But I am curious your thoughts once you have seen the film.
Much like some of its predecessors, the movie brings the general population in to an intimate community of artists. The amount of time devoted to unforgiving rehearsals and mental preparation to develop ones character, just for that moment of perfection, is very much a reality. But the movie is meant to be a psychological thriller. I can’t say that I was surprised by the ending. (Truth be told, I as well as my dancing peers, giggled a little at the cheesiness that I’m assuming only we can understand.) Regardless, it was a Darren Aronofsky film and kept with a formula that works for him. Natalie Portman portrayed her character convincingly and deserves all the recognition she’s receiving.
HEADS UP: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE – DO NOT READ THIS COMMENT!
Okay, I saw it today. I think it’s the most incredible, emotional, artistic, raw, amazing film I’ve ever seen. It’s not confusing at all, it’s just full of symbolism and if you’re not the kind of person who really gets symbolism in movies (like my boyfriend… and that’s fine) then you’ll find it confusing. I found the movie so incredibly moving. I think the movie means one thing to the general public but something totally different to anybody who’s every been a serious stage performer. There’s a whole different level of connection and understanding for me because of my history with the stage. The understanding (because I’ve experienced it) that sometimes a roll can become you (or you it) and you work so hard to achieve perfection that the lines between your role and who you are become blurred. Reality and fantasy become confusing and all you want as a performer is to walk away from a performance and say “I was perfect.” Performers strive for perfection and we are our hardest critics so most of us will live and die never experiencing the feeling of “I was perfect.” It’s different for everybody else – like singers who can re-record something or an artist who can throw away a canvas and do it again, but on a stage you have few chances to do it right – live. It’s rare enough to have a shot at it – but even more rare to feel perfection. I was lucky enough to have the moment that most never will… to walk off of a stage and feel “I was perfect.” I couldn’t stop crying then… or at the end of the Black Swan because I know how she felt. I was touched in a way that 95% of people who see this movie never will be and in a way – I’m appreciative of having that.