Aronofsky's Next -- Black Swan

[Batman713]

Lets see Black Swan huh?

Good film, but definitely NOT a Great film.

It is basically benefitting from being released so close to Awards season and riding that over hyped wave of films that get released during this time of year.

The best OVERALL films of the year for me are in no particular order:

True Grit
Inception
The Fighter
The Town
Toy Story 3

The Most Overrated films so far:

Black Swan
The Social Network

Haven't seen The Fighter or True Grit yet but The Town and Toy Story 3 are overrated.

Best films of the year:

Inception
The Social Network
Black Swan
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

 

[Octoberist]

Loved Black Swan!

It's a film that is, to a certain degree, predictable, but Darren made it fresh enough that it works.

Best list thus far:

The Social Network
Black Swan
Scott Pilgrim
Toy Story 3
Inception

 

[MOVIELORD101]

Saw the movie recently. Portman was GREAT, but HATED the story, with the ending being my least favorite part. I don't like how the story makes you sympathise with her character and then does everything in it's power to ruin that fact by not having her talk to someone who can help her emotionally and just destroy her from the inside. That's just mean and not fair to the audience AT ALL. Don't get me wrong, guys. I like Aronofsky's work, especially The Fountain and The Wrestler. However, I don't like when he does mean-spirited, irrational movies like this and Requiem For A Dream because they're just too damn cruel and have unreasonable characters. Overall, didn't like the story (ESPECIALLY how it ends), but liked the performances, especially Portman's. Give her the darn Oscar, Hollywood, just don't make me sit through anymore movies like this EVER AGAIN. I won't put up with such bullcrap. No offence, guys.

 

[Assassin32]

HATED the story, with the ending being my least favorite part.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I liked it. It was shot beautifully and I love the music of Tchaikovsky. The plot was very interesting and I liked the interplay between the Portman and Kunis characters. (Sidebar: Kunis has gotten way hotter since That 70s Show!) This is actually a horror film with a The Shining feel. Loving how they are calling it a "psychological thriller" so the Oscars won't ignore them.

One thing bumped down the score for me. Natalie Portman.

Just not feeling it. She's getting a ton of praise for this. I'm thinking it must be her obvious intense training to pull off the dancing that is influencing this. I do admire what she did in that area. She deserves tons of praise for that hard work.

But the acting....."meh". Do directors of ballets normally pick the girl that has a look of panic on her face 24 hours a day? Is that what you look for in a prima ballerina? I realize Portman's character was supposed to be disturbed....but she was also supposed to be a dancer the director of the ballet would be impressed with to play the "white swan". Portman totally failed to convey that. At certain points, I was tempted to shout out "Relax already!". A The Shining comparison again...check out Jack Nicholson's work in that for an example of how you play "disturbed". You don't have to inject "disturbed" into every single frame of the film. Color me unimpressed with her.

Definitely worth seeing as a well constructed film. Just wish Portman had put some contrast into her performance.

7/10

 

[Raiden]

Saw the movie recently. Portman was GREAT, but HATED the story, with the ending being my least favorite part.

I think you kind of missed the point of the movie that Aronofsky was trying to make.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Saw the movie recently. Portman was GREAT, but HATED the story, with the ending being my least favorite part. I don't like how the story makes you sympathise with her character and then does everything in it's power to ruin that fact by not having her talk to someone who can help her emotionally and just destroy her from the inside. That's just mean and not fair to the audience AT ALL. Don't get me wrong, guys. I like Aronofsky's work, especially The Fountain and The Wrestler. However, I don't like when he does mean-spirited, irrational movies like this and Requiem For A Dream because they're just too damn cruel and have unreasonable characters. Overall, didn't like the story (ESPECIALLY how it ends), but liked the performances, especially Portman's. Give her the darn Oscar, Hollywood, just don't make me sit through anymore movies like this EVER AGAIN. I won't put up with such bullcrap. No offence, guys.

I really don't see how either of these films are mean-spirited. Especially, Requiem for a Dream. Irrational? I'm not sure what you mean, like the characters are irrational?

 

[Octoberist]

@movielord101

Black Swan is a type of movie that challenges you, rational or not. It's about a girl whose world is crumbling around her, and we're suppose to feel that insanity.

 

[Batman713]

I liked it. It was shot beautifully and I love the music of Tchaikovsky. The plot was very interesting and I liked the interplay between the Portman and Kunis characters. (Sidebar: Kunis has gotten way hotter since That 70s Show!) This is actually a horror film with a The Shining feel. Loving how they are calling it a "psychological thriller" so the Oscars won't ignore them.

One thing bumped down the score for me. Natalie Portman.

Just not feeling it. She's getting a ton of praise for this. I'm thinking it must be her obvious intense training to pull off the dancing that is influencing this. I do admire what she did in that area. She deserves tons of praise for that hard work.

But the acting....."meh". Do directors of ballets normally pick the girl that has a look of panic on her face 24 hours a day? Is that what you look for in a prima ballerina? I realize Portman's character was supposed to be disturbed....but she was also supposed to be a dancer the director of the ballet would be impressed with to play the "white swan". Portman totally failed to convey that. At certain points, I was tempted to shout out "Relax already!". A The Shining comparison again...check out Jack Nicholson's work in that for an example of how you play "disturbed". You don't have to inject "disturbed" into every single frame of the film. Color me unimpressed with her.

Definitely worth seeing as a well constructed film. Just wish Portman had put some contrast into her performance.

7/10

Really? The acting was one of the strongest points of the film. Portman was amazing. She's a fragile woman trapped in a girls body hence her panic/distressed face for most of the film. We only see contrast in her performance when we are supposed to, such as when Nina

Spoiler

undergoes her "metamorphosis" as she loses her innoncence and becomes the exact opposite of her sexually repressed self, which is facilitated in part by Lily.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Saw the movie recently. Portman was GREAT, but HATED the story, with the ending being my least favorite part. I don't like how the story makes you sympathise with her character and then does everything in it's power to ruin that fact by not having her talk to someone who can help her emotionally and just destroy her from the inside. That's just mean and not fair to the audience AT ALL. Don't get me wrong, guys. I like Aronofsky's work, especially The Fountain and The Wrestler. However, I don't like when he does mean-spirited, irrational movies like this and Requiem For A Dream because they're just too damn cruel and have unreasonable characters. Overall, didn't like the story (ESPECIALLY how it ends), but liked the performances, especially Portman's. Give her the darn Oscar, Hollywood, just don't make me sit through anymore movies like this EVER AGAIN. I won't put up with such bullcrap. No offence, guys.

wasnt the ending of the movie pretty obvious from the beginning? i mean, the whole movie is a translation of swan lake itself. like the swan in the play, the only way portman's character can free herself of the obsessive burden of the role shes trapped in is to kill herself.

dont get me wrong, my biggest complaint about the movie is the story, as well. but there is nothing irrational or mean spirited about it. and the ending made perfect sense.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I liked it. It was shot beautifully and I love the music of Tchaikovsky. The plot was very interesting and I liked the interplay between the Portman and Kunis characters. (Sidebar: Kunis has gotten way hotter since That 70s Show!) This is actually a horror film with a The Shining feel. Loving how they are calling it a "psychological thriller" so the Oscars won't ignore them.

One thing bumped down the score for me. Natalie Portman.

Just not feeling it. She's getting a ton of praise for this. I'm thinking it must be her obvious intense training to pull off the dancing that is influencing this. I do admire what she did in that area. She deserves tons of praise for that hard work.

But the acting....."meh". Do directors of ballets normally pick the girl that has a look of panic on her face 24 hours a day? Is that what you look for in a prima ballerina? I realize Portman's character was supposed to be disturbed....but she was also supposed to be a dancer the director of the ballet would be impressed with to play the "white swan". Portman totally failed to convey that. At certain points, I was tempted to shout out "Relax already!". A The Shining comparison again...check out Jack Nicholson's work in that for an example of how you play "disturbed". You don't have to inject "disturbed" into every single frame of the film. Color me unimpressed with her.

Definitely worth seeing as a well constructed film. Just wish Portman had put some contrast into her performance.

7/10

I'm pretty sure a ballerina can look out and out constipated all the time, but if she can dance the part and convey the feelings and emotions she suppose to, a director could care less what her expression is on average outside the play. And remember, she wasn't going to be cast originally, until he saw she had a feisty side to her, since he didn't think she could handle the black swan parts.

Though, she didn't look panic 24/7. That was quite a wonderful facade on her part, though.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Really? The acting was one of the strongest points of the film. Portman was amazing. She's a fragile woman trapped in a girls body hence her panic/distressed face for most of the film. We only see contrast in her performance when we are supposed to, such as when Nina

Spoiler

undergoes her "metamorphosis" as she loses her innoncence and becomes the exact opposite of her sexually repressed self, which is facilitated in part by Lily.

I got all that of course. My point was I could get the same from less. Sometimes less is more.

And...it made her being chosen as the lead in the ballet a bit unbelievable. Unless we are supposed to be seeing her in a way other characters in the movie don't see her. No way a director picks that girl out of a lineup. "Hey you! Yeah...the one that looks like she is about to start screaming in terror any minute now. I think you should be the one the audience looks at."

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I'm pretty sure a ballerina can look out and out constipated all the time, but if she can dance the part and convey the feelings and emotions she suppose to, a director could care less what her expression is on average outside the play. And remember, she wasn't going to be cast originally, until he saw she had a feisty side to her, since he didn't think she could handle the black swan parts.

Though, she didn't look panic 24/7. That was quite a wonderful facade on her part, though.

Not being a patron of the ballet, I'll take your word on that.

It was actually the "white swan" that I didn't buy into. I was thinking that part would be best presented as "beautiful" and "calm". Portman's character was "stressed" and "neurotic".

 

[Tron Bonne]

Not being a patron of the ballet, I'll take your word on that.

It was actually the "white swan" that I didn't buy into. I was thinking that part would be best presented as "beautiful" and "calm". Portman's character was "stressed" and "neurotic".

You don't need to be a patron, just common sense. If someone can dance and convey what you want them to convey, then it doesn't matter what kind of look they have outside the dance. And it doesn't matter if she didn't look beautiful out of the dance, in the dance she was exactly what she needed to be, besides when she fell, but that was her added flair to everything I think, made you realize how vulnerable the White Swan was in comparison to her twin.

 

[Matt Mortem]

I finally saw it today. All I can say is GODDAMN!!! That was a hell of a film. It was tense, unsettling and uncomfortable and I couldn't keep my eyes off it! All of the actors involved did a phenomenal job from start to finish. It was well shot and the story kept you in, I never felt it had pacing problems or drug in spots. Aronofsky knocked it out of the park again!!! 10/10

 

[MOVIELORD101]

wasnt the ending of the movie pretty obvious from the beginning? i mean, the whole movie is a translation of swan lake itself. like the swan in the play, the only way portman's character can free herself of the obsessive burden of the role shes trapped in is to kill herself.

dont get me wrong, my biggest complaint about the movie is the story, as well. but there is nothing irrational or mean spirited about it. and the ending made perfect sense.

I mean mean-spirited as in the character is treated like absolute **** by almost everyone, ESPECIALLY her ungrateful ***** of a mother, and she doesn't even both at least seeing a shrink, for Pete's sake. I don't like it one bit, symbolism be damned!

 

[MOVIELORD101]

@movielord101

Black Swan is a type of movie that challenges you, rational or not. It's about a girl whose world is crumbling around her, and we're suppose to feel that insanity.

Oh, I felt it. I just didn't like it. I'm allowed to have my own opinion. That's al I'm saying. They might as well have retitled this from Back Swan to Cry Havoc because of all the harshness in this movie.

 

[Motown Marvel]

I mean mean-spirited as in the character is treated like absolute **** by almost everyone, ESPECIALLY her ungrateful ***** of a mother, and she doesn't even both at least seeing a shrink, for Pete's sake. I don't like it one bit, symbolism be damned!

shes a well intended person who clearly has some sort of mental affliction (probably partially due to her wench mother). most people dont see therapists for many reasons. these things happen.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

shes a well intended person who clearly has some sort of mental affliction (probably partially due to her wench mother). most people dont see therapists for many reasons. these things happen.

That's why I felt sorry for Portman's character! Her mom was an abusive, ungrateful *****. It the fact that she never grows a SPINE and stand up to her ******** is what made me do this:

 

[TheComicbookKid]

That's why I felt sorry for Portman's character! Her mom was an abusive, ungrateful *****. It the fact that she never grows a SPINE and stand up to her ******** is what made me do this:

Didn't she tell her she was moving out and walked out the door to go party with Nina the day before opening night?

 

[Matt Mortem]

Yeah MovieLord, She did stand up to her towards the end. It was a huge moment in the film, but it happened

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

Great direction, story, music, and performance. That's all I have to say about it.

 

[The Guard]

I thought BLACK SWAN was fantastic. But it’s a very good movie, not a great one. It flirts with greatness, as Aronofsky so often does, but never quite gets there. Still, it’s a hell of an experience, I think.

The writing simply isn’t, beyond the basic beats, that impressive. As unique as this concept was, I felt like I’d seen it all before. I really did find this predictable. Somewhat satisfying, but predictable nonetheless. The devolution of her character, and evolution into what she needs to be is a bit staggered. I thought all the horror moments were a bit hackneyed and somewhat cheesy.

Portman was amazing. I didn’t think there was much done with her “Black Swan” persona, though, it seemed to be mostly dancing and effects. I never saw anything major in her actual performance that made me feel she was playing duel roles. Her rebellious side was basically just a *****y Nina who kissed people. Though she definitely had sex with what’s his face, I never really felt she herself seduced anyone. And adding drugs to it kind of bothered me, in that I felt she should have been able to get where she was going without the drugs.

Cassell was very good. Kunis was...well, she played a role any semi attractive girl with a hint of the exotic could have played. She did ok.

The directing was phenomenal, though. The music was superb. There’s quite a bit of truth to what was onscreen, in terms of artists and their obsessions. I can sympathize, because as an actor, there is a desire to attain perfection just to keep being able to play roles, and act. Competition is fierce, etc.

The whole “I want it to be perfect” thing really wasn’t developed very well. She seemed like she wanted to get it right, period, not necessarily perfect, until the end, despite a few utterances of the word "perfect". Practicing to be perfect and ignoring a few scratches and incidents with torn skin to keep doing what you love isn’t really a satisfying exploration of such a concept. There simply wasn’t enough weight to the “repressed girl becoming something more” stuff. The scratches that were clearly going to bear feathers wasn't really all that hard to figure out, and as a result, it was all very cliché. The trippy stuff was kind of "forced trippy", if that makes any sense.

The stabbing herself with the mirror thing is a bit much, too. Surely she could have just fallen at the end and not survived it, IE, gotten too far into the role? She didn‘t have to literally “kill“ “herself”.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

Yeah MovieLord, She did stand up to her towards the end. It was a huge moment in the film, but it happened

Ah crap, that's right! Sorry, I must've forgotten.

 

[DACrowe]

I thought BLACK SWAN was fantastic. But it’s a very good movie, not a great one. It flirts with greatness, as Aronofsky so often does, but never quite gets there. Still, it’s a hell of an experience, I think.

The writing simply isn’t, beyond the basic beats, that impressive. As unique as this concept was, I felt like I’d seen it all before. I really did find this predictable. Somewhat satisfying, but predictable nonetheless. The devolution of her character, and evolution into what she needs to be is a bit staggered. I thought all the horror moments were a bit hackneyed and somewhat cheesy.

Portman was amazing. I didn’t think there was much done with her “Black Swan” persona, though, it seemed to be mostly dancing and effects. I never saw anything major in her actual performance that made me feel she was playing duel roles. Her rebellious side was basically just a *****y Nina who kissed people. Though she definitely had sex with what’s his face, I never really felt she herself seduced anyone. And adding drugs to it kind of bothered me, in that I felt she should have been able to get where she was going without the drugs.

Cassell was very good. Kunis was...well, she played a role any semi attractive girl with a hint of the exotic could have played. She did ok.

The directing was phenomenal, though. The music was superb. There’s quite a bit of truth to what was onscreen, in terms of artists and their obsessions. I can sympathize, because as an actor, there is a desire to attain perfection just to keep being able to play roles, and act. Competition is fierce, etc.

The whole “I want it to be perfect” thing really wasn’t developed very well. She seemed like she wanted to get it right, period, not necessarily perfect, until the end, despite a few utterances of the word "perfect". Practicing to be perfect and ignoring a few scratches and incidents with torn skin to keep doing what you love isn’t really a satisfying exploration of such a concept. There simply wasn’t enough weight to the “repressed girl becoming something more” stuff. The scratches that were clearly going to bear feathers wasn't really all that hard to figure out, and as a result, it was all very cliché. The trippy stuff was kind of "forced trippy", if that makes any sense.

The stabbing herself with the mirror thing is a bit much, too. Surely she could have just fallen at the end and not survived it, IE, gotten too far into the role? She didn‘t have to literally “kill“ “herself”.

I didn't find the end completely predictable. I was surprised that she stabbed herself with a glass shard. It makes sense afterwards. Most of the beats I predicted, but the way the movie ended with her dying...and it still being happy caught me off guard.

Also, her Black Swan persona was incredibly different. Yes she "only dances," and it is just one scene. But when she becomes the Black Swan and is on stage (and after when she swallows Cassel's face) her entire presence and persona is completely different. It is nothing like Nina and it is shocking.