Wednesday, September 15, 2010

1412 - Black Swan


So last week there was the first press and industry screening and the line-up was insane. I kept hearing that this was the film to see at the festival, and because I have my pass, I thought I'd check it out - especially because there's been some Oscar buzz about it. Truth is, the Misses and I don't get out to the movies that often, so the more I can see now the better.
I have to be honest, at the end of this film I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Was it a well made film? Of course! It's gorgeous to look at, it's interesting, but... I don't know. Some movies I watch and they just spark, you know you're watching something amazing, with this I just kind of felt like I was watching a decent film. The truth is that they're toting this film as a companion piece to The Wrestler, but the truth is that it's actually "The Wrestler in Ballet School", not to ruin anything, but beat for beat, it's more or less the same story. Not to bag a guy for being interested in exploring the same theme, but we get it - people kill themselves for their art. I'm a fan of Natalie Portman, and I know that part of the point of her character was that she was supposed to be a bit tight and frigid, but it was almost too much to the point where some of her performance felt oddly wooden, which was weird for her. I don't know how much of it was her, or how much was fancy camera work with a double, but I completely bought her as a ballerina. That and the film does some pretty impressive subtle effects. Like I said, it's a pretty damn good movie, but I just don't get the fuss.

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