Black Swan
Not 100% sure what to make of this one. My gut is telling me that I just didn't like it all that much. And yet... the damn thing is sticking with me. Generally, movies that follow me around tend to grow on me, but I just can't see that happening with this one. Also, I can usually figure out a letter grade for a film by the time I make it back to my car. This is, after all, basically my first impression/gut feeling about the movie. So what to make of THIS movie???
To start, it was damn intense. Gripping. Almost to the point of being uncomfortable/overwhelming. It was pretty much exactly like watching a car crash develop in slow motion. A bad one too. You know it ain't gonna be good but you just can't force yourself to look away. Just how bad is it going to be? In this, pretty bad. Over the top bad. I guess you can boil the movie down to this: it's basically a window into the mind of a young lady going crazy due to unimaginable pressure- brought on both from within and through outside influences. As descents into madness go, this was pretty vivid. You definitely got the idea that Natalie Portman's Nina was waaaay past gone by the end. But still... as it was SO clear that she was SO crazy... it kind of felt like auteur director Darren Aronofsky took the easy way out. I always seem to favor the less-is-more approach to film-making. Why come out and say something... no, wait, why hammer a point clear into an audience's head/force it down their throat through their eye/ear holes when hinting, cajoling, gradually leading the audience to your desired effect will do just as well... if not far and away better. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as if Nina started out completely insane and this was just a passing window into her madness. You get lead to the end that she's sold so much of herself to get so far... one hammer blow to the head at a time. So I guess what it amounts to is a voyeur's view of crazy. Hmmm, not generally for me. And yet... it was so damn intense. I was glued to the screen. I can't say it was boring, that's for sure. But can I say it was good?
Well, I can say that the performances were exceptional. And that helps. Natalie Portman definitely deserves all the accolades being tossed her way. She seemed almost scarily invested in the part. Mila Kunis played her role as Nina's rival/frenemy/epitome of insanity really well- she was definitely an intriguing mystery- transfixing. Winona Ryder was similarly fantastic. But, to me, the one who stole every scene she was in was Barbara Hershey as Nina's smothering Mother. Hershey was able to convey so much with just the look in her eyes. It was incredible to see. Mother madness at her finest.
None of the actors disappointed here, which, as I said, makes it hard to dislike the movie. I do have to hand it to Aronofsky; he was trying to create a visionary film here. And to some degree he does succeed. It just keeps bugging me how over the top the movie was. So over-the-top. If the performances weren't so riveting, the over-the-topness of it probably would have been distracting. But as it was, and as I've said, it was hard to look away.
So, in the end, what to make of Black Swan? In the "pro" column are incredible performances, a rare intensity, and an interesting story/plot. Going against it? A lack of subtlety and the fact that the way the movie played out... well for lack of a better way of putting it, it was just too much. And that whole voyeur feeling just felt wrong. So what does it amount to? I guess... in the end... I'd say it was a pretty good movie- certainly will stick with me- but not fantastic.
Grade: B
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