2010 - Rated R - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied
Yes, this movie got a lot of hype. And yes, so did Natalie Portman and her dancer-in-six-months training program. Usually hype drives me far away from a movie. I'm not a bandwagon rider, you know?
Something about the chilling previews sucked me in and so I went to see it in theaters. For weeks afterwards, I got chills every time I thought about it. Now that's an impression. Owning it (finally) is really exciting for me. And I want everyone to watch it, but I'm acutely aware that Black Swan is not for everyone.
It's not a dancing movie, it's not a chick movie, and it's not a romance. So stop you're whining already. Instead, it's been dubbed a "psychosexual thriller," a new category of weird mind-altering movie that's incomparable so far. Aronofsky takes the art and beauty of The Fountain and combines it with the warped mind twists of a movie like American Psycho. Natalie Portman is perfect as the symbolic white swan, fighting against her inner black swan, stuck in a schizophrenic battle that plays itself out on the stage. I won't give anything away, because it's best to experience it as I did - not knowing much but expecting a wild, chilling story.
And that ending.... yup, still gives me chills.
Great movie. Though "psychosexual thriller" isn't really a new genre. The thing is that it's dominated by Skinemax style low rent sleaze. This is definitely one of the only prestige pictures to carry that label.
ReplyDelete