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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Black Swan

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Release date: USA - 17 Dec 10 / UK - 21 Jan 11
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder



He said:

I am not unfortunately, one of those culturally diverse enough to feel the draw or even the appeal of ballet. Black Swan does a wonderful job of both introducing me to this dancing art form and making it seem more interesting than a bunch of malnourished girls dancing in onesies.

Portman and Kunis shine in this film. Portman portrays a perfectionist rising star thats biggest weaknesses are her weak and fragile appearance and her overbearing mother that is obviously trying to live her forgotten dreams through her daughters dancing career. Ryder has a small but strong role as the "over the hill" former lead/star.

Black Swan welcomes you into it's world with a beautiful interpretation of Swan Lake. This film surprised me time and again and as I watched it and true to it's word was an intense psychological thriller. Rarely do any horror films get as much of a reaction out of as this film did. I really enjoyed it and I give it {{{4 out of 5}}}

She said:

Sometimes you get a film that just smacks you right in the face with what can only be described as tragic beauty. This is by far one of the best examples of this I have seen in a long long time. The film is basically an interpretation of Swan Lake, one of the most loved ballet's of all time... but y'know... with a serious case of psychosis thrown in for the lolz.

I really enjoyed the fact that this film did something a bit different. Yes of course they had to have the same old boring reference to dancers with eating disorders but I felt that Nina's process of becoming consumed by the Black Swanfar eclipsed the cliches. Aronofsky was very clever to film this in a way that made it feel like a ballet; very fluid but also gripping and tense.

Portman also has to be commended in this film. Forget about the intense mental performance she had to give, just the physical work must have been gruelling. She apparently spent a year training for this film and I can tell you that is really pays off. I am not a ballet exper but her dancing looks flawless to me!

This film is both hard to watch and amazingly beautiful, both elements being emphasised by the score (a variation on Swan Lake). I implore you to see this at some point. I give this film {{{5 out of 5}}}

They said:

Beautiful, thrilling, tragic and tense. We give this film {{{9 out of 10}}}.

Question of the day: Do you prefer in your face horror or subtle thrillers?

1 comment:

  1. Black Swan and Toy Story 3 were the only nominated movies I watched so far. And I think it's going to be like this till the Oscars.

    Really enjoyed the movie. Not only because of Natalie Portman (yes, I have a crush on her, let's face it's a fair crush!), but also because it is a beautiful film, with little flirts with supernatural horror. Magical!

    A subtle thriller is much better than a in your face horror. For starters, it makes me relate with those in danger. Second, it gets you tense, you never know what's next, not predictable frights that don't last five seconds. And third: Well, I forgot.

    Yeah... I'm lame.

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