I still haven't seen THE FOUNTAIN, but the films of Darren Aronofsky have always held my attention and interest--the ones I've seen have all been harrowing, extremely well-acted tales of self-destruction without ever quite qualifying as "horror movies" (I know, I know--the term is much too general when dealing with the likes of PI or REQUIEM FOR A DREAM). THE WRESTLER was, of course, his most accessible and 'mainstream' film, but it was no less powerful for that. Now here's BLACK SWAN--the kindest reviews refer to it as a shocking, hallucinatory masterpiece, while the least kind suggest that it's basically THE WRESTLER remade for the world of ballet. And both schools of review have a legitimate point.
Natalie Portman is Nina, whose entire reason for being has been consumed with the desire to play the Swan Queen in her company's new production of SWAN LAKE. Vincent Cassell is the charming and shamelessly 'aggressive' director (who helpfully explains the plot of SWAN LAKE to his experienced dancers for the sake of the audience). Nina would be perfect as the good White Swan, but he's not quite so sure she has what it takes to tap into the dark side of the role (you know the one). In order to do that (per his assessment), she must fearlessly engage her repressed sexuality.
Meantime, new dancer Lila (Mila Kunis) is hanging on Nina like a puppy as she blatantly schemes to get the plum role for herself, Winona Ryder (I did NOT recognize her, which is a testament to the actress), is the washed-up, forty-ish prima ballerina who loathes Nina for replacing her as the company darling, and Barbara Hershey is Nina's long-suffering mother (with whom she still lives).
Of course, by describing the bare bones of the plot, I'm not leaving room for the approach, which is allegedly everything. Nina's obsession and paranoia (?) drive her to madness. And you can tell this right away... there's a wonderful frisson in the early going in which Nina looks at a wallful of childish drawings, one of which (unless you blink) eyes her back in a most disturbing fashion. That's it, I thought--this one's going to be a scorcher. But by the time ALL of the drawings came to life much later in the film, I was beyond caring.
Let me approach this with the WRESTLER comparison first. While I've had about as much professional wrestling experience as I've had ballet experience, I believed in the former film one hundred percent. Perhaps there are true-life pro wrestlers who will tell me that Aronofsky and Micky Rourke got it wrong--that their world isn't like that at all. But I believed every moment of what that film showed me--the characters conveyed everything they had lived through and everything they had put themselves through to get where they were--with the consequences being equally palpable and heart-rending. However, I did NOT believe that I had gained true insight and empathy regarding the world of ballet as set up in BLACK SWAN. I knew that Nina wanted the lead role, that nothing else mattered to her, and that sexual arousal pushed her dangerously over the edge. I still had no sense of who she was before and what she had done to get there in the first place. I'm still watching ballet on the stage without a true feeling of what it took from all involved to make it happen, while the basic story of the film hit every cliche of show-biz melodrama I've ever seen again and again.
God help me, I got the impression that Aronofsky wanted to remake Polanski's REPULSION (and oh, do those nail scissors show up to make you cringe again and again) but was forced to hang it on the plot of SHOWGIRLS.
Nor did I want to be so harsh. Some people told me to wait for the DVD, others told me I needed to see BLACK SWAN on the big screen. With Aronofsky's track record, I opted for the latter. And some of the visuals ARE quite stunning, taking full advantage of the wide screen as they do. Others did a lot less for me, particularly a recurring ripple of CGI gooseflesh (okay, 'swanflesh') on Nina's body which seemed to be driving home a point that had already been made more than adequately.
And the movie deserves every acting nomination it's going to get. Natalie Portman is truly excellent as Nina, and it's not just her dancing and it's not just her cracking up. Her various relationships with her director, her mother and, of course, with Lila crackle with energy and intensity. Then, of course, there's Mila Kunis, who absolutely nails the role of the jealous, conniving 'friend.' Yes, quite a hubbub was raised over the nature of their 'big scene' together--and yes, it does live up to its reputation... but not just because it's 'hot,' either. It works because it's truly character-driven and because it derives its disorientating effect from pure emotion--and NOT by flashing colored strobe lights as loud techno/club music pounds on the soundtrack (always a warning sign where I'm concerned, and yes, BLACK SWAN also disappointingly 'goes there').
And so I will praise the acting, and I will praise isolated pieces of brilliance throughout the film. But I must regretfully inform you that BLACK SWAN failed completely to engage me on any sort of emotional level. It's a by-the-book melodrama that thinks it's better than that.
Black Swan
Moderator: Chris Slack