Black Swan was always going to be an interesting watch. Darren Aronofsky, whose past directorial jobs come with ‘controversial’ written all over them, should just concentrate on making a good film, not trying to shock the audience every time…
Black Swan was always going to be an interesting watch.
Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream) whose past directorial jobs come with ‘controversial’ written all over them, should just concentrate on making a good film, not trying to shock the audience every time.
It had the ability to be so much more than it was – but about three quarters of the way through it crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. Was it supposed to be a camped up horror with human bones cracking into a swan’s legs and feathers sprouting through delicate girl-skin? Or were we to be in awe of Aronofsky’s ‘art-house genius’?
The story had so much more promise; under-nourished, perfectionist Nina (played by Natalie Portman), principal dancer in the New York Ballet, struggling to shake off her fragile, child-like persona and prepare for her role as the Swan Queen in Tchaikovsky’s depressive ballet, Swan Lake. Take Nina – a self-harmer and anorexic with a bedroom furnished with soft toys and other virginal props – placed in the hard-core world of professional ballet, and throw in some burgeoning mental illness in the mix and you have the elements of a brilliant screenplay.
She is surrounded by stereotypical characters pulled from the ballet world; Barbara Hershey as Nina’s over-protective, washed-up dancer mother, Vincent Cassel as the brilliantly-pervy artistic director, and Mila Kunis who played Lily, the popular, new face on the troupe; a welcome ray of light who steals the show as the Nina’s frenemy. Nina’s paranoia reaches such heights, she fantasizes killing her.
The idea of the real and unreal being blurred and many questions going unanswered forces the viewer to question their own perception and witnessing Nina’s slow deterioration is testament that Portman is a talented actor.
I enjoyed the hallucinogenic feel of Nina’s constant mirror-gazing and the claustrophobic camera angles which gave a great sense of the paranoia and fear she was feeling, but was disappointed with the lack of character growth of the supporting cast; for me this is an important facet of a film, connecting me with a personality, so some sort of emotional attachment can form.
It’s an intriguing, gruesome ride of craziness, but didn’t really ‘move’ me the way, say The Wrestler did. I didn’t ‘like’ any of the characters, nor did I care about what happened to them. This film is definitely worth seeing, but I had very high expectations that were not met, by a long shot.
Black Swan is out for general release in January 2011.
By Christine Young 14 December 2010 mixitup.co.nz
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