Black Swan Review
A week or so ago, I mentioned going to see Black Swan. Here are my thoughts for those who expressed interest in knowing what the movie was like.
Black Swan tells the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina who gets cast as the Swan Queen in the ballet, Swan Lake. The Swan Queen has to take on the roles of both the White Swan, the good and pure princess who loses her prince, and the Black Swan, the conjured seductress who lures the prince away. Nina, a sheltered girl who seems to have suppressed all of her dark notions, is told by the director when she gets the part that she's perfect for the White Swan, but will have to work to portray the dark side of the Black Swan. During the preparation for the ballet, Nina succumbs to the pressure of her sheltered life , thinks the new ballerina, Lily (Mila Kunis), is trying to steal her role, and eventually loses herself in all of her suppressed darkness.
Natalie Portman was stunning. She transforms so perfectly from White Swan to Black Swan throughout the movie that it became hard to tell which changes were Nina, consciously trying to be perfect, and which changes were Nina, falling prey to the Black Swan within her naturally. The character of Nina had so many issues going on that playing them all so well must have taken a great deal of investment into the role. Also, Mila Kunis did an amazing job as Lily, playing her good and bad sides to a T.
The ballet was one of the things that I loved most about this film. Well, 1) I'm a huge fan of ballet and Swan Lake is probably one of my favorite ballets because of its intensity, and 2) I've taken ballet lessons and thus, am enthralled by the intricate foot movements. Black Swan captured both aspects of what I love about ballet and Swan Lake perfectly. As my good friend IRL mentioned in his review, the intensity just keeps building till it lets off spectacularly at the end. Also, the ballet itself was quite well done. The intricacy was pretty high and the movie really showed how much effort it takes to convey particular emotions and fluidity in such a rigid and structured form of dance.
Overall, I thought the movie was brilliant, in all aspects, from acting to shooting to storyline. Definitely e-mail me if you'd like to discuss or anything. I am definitely considering seeing it again.
Also, how much do you love this movie poster?!
I thought the movie was amazing. The story is something that truly stays with you and for me, who can't deal with disturbing things well, meant a couple nights of not sleeping well.Black Swan tells the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina who gets cast as the Swan Queen in the ballet, Swan Lake. The Swan Queen has to take on the roles of both the White Swan, the good and pure princess who loses her prince, and the Black Swan, the conjured seductress who lures the prince away. Nina, a sheltered girl who seems to have suppressed all of her dark notions, is told by the director when she gets the part that she's perfect for the White Swan, but will have to work to portray the dark side of the Black Swan. During the preparation for the ballet, Nina succumbs to the pressure of her sheltered life , thinks the new ballerina, Lily (Mila Kunis), is trying to steal her role, and eventually loses herself in all of her suppressed darkness.
Natalie Portman was stunning. She transforms so perfectly from White Swan to Black Swan throughout the movie that it became hard to tell which changes were Nina, consciously trying to be perfect, and which changes were Nina, falling prey to the Black Swan within her naturally. The character of Nina had so many issues going on that playing them all so well must have taken a great deal of investment into the role. Also, Mila Kunis did an amazing job as Lily, playing her good and bad sides to a T.
The ballet was one of the things that I loved most about this film. Well, 1) I'm a huge fan of ballet and Swan Lake is probably one of my favorite ballets because of its intensity, and 2) I've taken ballet lessons and thus, am enthralled by the intricate foot movements. Black Swan captured both aspects of what I love about ballet and Swan Lake perfectly. As my good friend IRL mentioned in his review, the intensity just keeps building till it lets off spectacularly at the end. Also, the ballet itself was quite well done. The intricacy was pretty high and the movie really showed how much effort it takes to convey particular emotions and fluidity in such a rigid and structured form of dance.
Overall, I thought the movie was brilliant, in all aspects, from acting to shooting to storyline. Definitely e-mail me if you'd like to discuss or anything. I am definitely considering seeing it again.
I have to admit that I was disappointed by this movie. I think it's because it was raved about much that I had unrealistic expectations.
ReplyDeleteIt was very very true to the genre of psychological thriller and didn't stray.