Black Swan
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fly on the wall
you have but-face.
I thought it was a tad overrated.
Natalie Portman was phenomenal, the ballet parts were stunning, cinematic-ally it was gorgeous, the music and sound effects in general were great...but I dunno, the story itself fell flat. It took me awhile after I saw it to put my finger on was bugged me, exactly, and I think in the end I just feel it was too cliche, had too many stereotypes and didn't tell me anything about the world I didn't know. I didn't come away from the movie with any greater understanding than when I went in, and that's what a really awesome movie should do.
I'd probably watch it again, though, once it gets on Netflix or something. See if my opinion changes at all.
Natalie Portman was phenomenal, the ballet parts were stunning, cinematic-ally it was gorgeous, the music and sound effects in general were great...but I dunno, the story itself fell flat. It took me awhile after I saw it to put my finger on was bugged me, exactly, and I think in the end I just feel it was too cliche, had too many stereotypes and didn't tell me anything about the world I didn't know. I didn't come away from the movie with any greater understanding than when I went in, and that's what a really awesome movie should do.
I'd probably watch it again, though, once it gets on Netflix or something. See if my opinion changes at all.
You see though, I have never seen ballet dancing as anything nasty or corrupt. It's always been portrayed as something quite beautiful and magical. But in Black Swan, it really shows another side to it and we start seeing this magical ballet dancing turned into something...corrupt lol. 😱
fly on the wall
you have but-face.
SPOILER ALERT!
Stereotypically, ballerinas have eating disorders (ballerina and eating disorder often go hand-in-hand, actually), self-injure, fight with themselves about being "perfect" (because ballet is a really rough gig, it's hard to be successful)...plus the bits with the creepy over-demanding mom and the catty ballerina friends...all of that is pretty stereotypical.
I mean, I doubt many ballerinas hallucinate about feathers protruding all over their bodies and wind up stabbing themselves before going out on stage....but the main themes of the story felt contrived.
I mean, I doubt many ballerinas hallucinate about feathers protruding all over their bodies and wind up stabbing themselves before going out on stage....but the main themes of the story felt contrived.
I expected it to be great for Natalie at least because I am a HUGE fan of her.
Well it was very good and she was beyond amazing. Mila was good as well.
I already knew the idea of the story when I saw it was compared to fight club but in the end at those last moments I felt myself wanting to cry for her. It is so weird the movie got me kind of emotional. It was so good glad to see it is getting good feedback.
Well it was very good and she was beyond amazing. Mila was good as well.
I already knew the idea of the story when I saw it was compared to fight club but in the end at those last moments I felt myself wanting to cry for her. It is so weird the movie got me kind of emotional. It was so good glad to see it is getting good feedback.
StarSlayer
Defender of Spuffy
True, but compared to other recent dance movies and previous films that featured ballet ("Center Stage," "Save the Last Dance," and "The Red Shoes," come to mind), I felt the portrayal of ballet was more gritty and real. The darker side of the ballet world, with the added twist of the psychological battle in Nina's head.
I'm not using spoiler tags, so if you haven't seen the film I recommend avoiding this post.
It was as much of a hallucination as a metaphor for the movie-going audience. The story was about meathod acting; literally becoming what you are trying to play. I went and saw the film with an actor friend of mine and we both thought the same thing while watching the movie: Heath Ledger (as the Joker and what happened from that).
Also, she saw herself evolving into the black swan and in order for us to get that that's why there were feathers, red eyes, yadda yadda. It's not contrived at all, I hope I can make you see it differently. She was supposed to play both a white and black swan, but she's a very "innocent/pure/holy/straight edge" girl. Naturally and at her default she couldn't be the black swan; she had to go to dark places to get to the point (of becoming the black swan) otherwise she'd loose the role of a lifetime. Did she go to far? That's not the point, the point is that that's what she - not anyone else, everyone would have their own process (if Lily was in her shoes she'd have to work on being more "pure," for example) - had to do to deliver the performance.
This was one of the best movies I have ever seen. The pressure the girl puts herself under, how Nina aspires to be like Lily and how her life literally paralells what happened to the Swan princess - through hallucinating and real life - all for the sake of "a role." It's fascinating and inspiring. She worked so hard and sacrificed the world for someone may simply label a (artist's) dream.
Knowing she was dancing with a peice of glass in her stomach really speaks true of a dedication to one's art - adrenaline and audience energy are amazing drugs. My favorite part of the whole entire movie is right after she comes offstage from dancing as the black swan and walks through the wings, adjusting her shoulders and stretching her neck as her eyes glow red. I was terryfied and so affected by this, only to see her jump back out on her cue and pirouette into the Swan Princess's counterpart.
This is all from my performer's persepctive and I am in awe at how much love this film is getting, I feel like people understand it and I was worried that wouldn't happen. I was curled up in a ball on my seat when the lights came on. When a movie hits every mark that it should within it's own genre it is perfection to me and that is exactly what this film did. (The moment Lily knocks on Nina's door to give her props after we had just seen Nina stab her into the mirror I was more than convinced this was a masterpiece. Just awesome.)
Oh, and am I the only one in the world who didn't know that Beth was played by Winona Ryder? Did not recognize her at all. I felt so silly and shocked to hear! I just can't say enough about how great this movie is - give them every Oscar this year!
S
StarSlayer
Well said :)
Spikefan31
Effulgent
Spikefan31
Effulgent
Okay, so I saw it. I didn't really like it. The acting was brilliant and I understand why Natalie Portman won the Golden Globe, but it was too heavy and confronting for me. I was genuinely scared. I don't think I'll be watching it again. It's just not something I can enjoy.
Frketson
The Late Goodbye
I really enjoyed it, and was left quite speechless when it ended. Its a day later and I'm still really just trying to process it all.
Really interesting to read some of the theories that people have come up with, and the thing that so great about the movie is that all of them are so plausible, every single person gets something different out of it.
Really interesting to read some of the theories that people have come up with, and the thing that so great about the movie is that all of them are so plausible, every single person gets something different out of it.
mayfever
Friend of all the World
I just got back from the cinema and I pretty much agree with everything fly on the wall said. Aesthetically, the movie was pretty much perfect and I ADORED Natalie (DANG but that woman is sexy!) in it, but the story fell a bit short. Of course we see everything through Nina's eyes, she projects a lot of herself onto the characters around her and we don't really get much more than glimpses of what Lily, her mother and Thomas (?, I mean the Frenchbloke) are really like, but even so I would have liked to get to know a bit more about them to have a more three-dimensional story. Since we don't, it's Fight Club in a tutu with a SIZZLING sex scene. I was well entertained but not blown away.
fly on the wall
you have but-face.
Speaking of, I have a friend that theorizes that the mother wasn't actually real and was just another delusion, which I find fascinating. It's worth watching the movie again just to watch it within that context, actually.
Big Damn Hero
Scooby
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- Feb 3, 2009
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I saw it last night and was absolutely blown away. I find some people saying "hallucinations" a bit of an understatement really, I viewed it more as fully blown psychosis. Just, no words. Still.
The thing is though, we aren't just seeing the breakdown of this young girl's mind, we are experiencing itself.
No matter what happened I fully believed it was happening at the time. It never felt like "this is all in her head", it always felt like it was happening right at that second.
I watched it the other night, and its not one of my types of films. I thought it was good and it certainly led to a debate between me and my friend on the way home
On a side note, it gave a good insight also into the strain that dancing puts onto these girls body. I cringed after seeing her nail when she went over on her ankle while practicing at home.
She thought that Portman's character had stayed the Black Swan at the end, but I thought she'd reverted back to the White Swan, like in the ballet.
On a side note, it gave a good insight also into the strain that dancing puts onto these girls body. I cringed after seeing her nail when she went over on her ankle while practicing at home.
Washburne
Protector of the key.
Ok...
This movie was great or amazing in many ways but something was missing for me to love it. A little slow at times and sometimes I think they really overdid it with the music. Should I've been scared by this movie? Because I wasn't. It was facinating though. Maybe a rewatch will make me change my mind a bit but that won't happen until it's released on dvd or blu ray.
I think I thought things were just in her head more often than we were supposed to. 😛
This movie was great or amazing in many ways but something was missing for me to love it. A little slow at times and sometimes I think they really overdid it with the music. Should I've been scared by this movie? Because I wasn't. It was facinating though. Maybe a rewatch will make me change my mind a bit but that won't happen until it's released on dvd or blu ray.
I think I thought things were just in her head more often than we were supposed to. 😛
I'm actually shocked that people were scared by it. Fascinated by is, I agree, how I felt too. I feel like the only people who could be scared of it is artists as it reflects on how meathod can affect one's mind. I don't think we were supposed to be scared. Unless those who were scared were just taken aback by the imagery and slight jump-ish type moments.
I didn't phrase that very well, what I meant was that I fully believed that she believed it to be real.
There were other things though that I was totally sold on: I fully believed she killed Mila Kunis (can't remember the character's name 😛). As well as that, I didn't believe for a second that she could pull off The Black Swan, Portman just convinced me that she wasn't capable of it and then that transofrmation at the end? She owned!
It was easily one of the best, if not the best, performance by an actor I have ever seen.
Washburne
Protector of the key.
Ah ok. Yes that I agree with.
I didn't believe that but on the other hand I for a while thought that she wasn't real at all so... Not at that point though.
And Portman definitely rules.
You know. I think I'm too old to go around saying that things rules. And the kids stopped doing that long ago didn't they? 😉
msfantastico87
Joann the Goblin Slayer
The character you are talking about is Lily. And no, I think you're wrong. I've already seen this movie 3 times to pretty much know that your assumption is incorrect, but I get why you think that.
Nina did not have what it took to become the black swan. Thomas knew this. That's why he kept pushing her buttons, seducing her and making her jealous, while using Lily to help out, although subconsciously. Anyways, once Nina shows to him that she can "let loose" by kissing him, he lets her in on the gig of the Black Swan. Thomas isn't pleased with her performance as the Black Swan, so he keeps pushing and pushing and pointing towards Nina and using Nina as a good example on how to become the Black Swan. When Nina invites her out, she goes out on a limb and does it to get away from her mom. that's the extent of what happened between Nina and Lily. Anything after the bar scene is a figment of Nina's imagination. The whole sex scene never happened. It's what Nina thought was supposed to have happened as her new self.
I don't know if you get what I mean because I'm horrible at explaining things. lol