Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan

[thevignettist]

If I didn't love Darren Aronofsky after "Requiem for a Dream," then I definitely do now. The sound effects combined with the visual feast (the makeup! the dancing!) were so great.

Also, Natalie Portman is now engaged to Benjamin Millipied, a New York City Ballet dancer who choreographed "Black Swan" and also acted as the prince whom the swan loves. Apparently she is also pregnant.

 

[Flashbang]

I watched it today and felt nothing because I read internet too much
But Natalie is indeed really engaging. I love how it looks like she's possessed on and behind the stage.

 

[alacrity]

This film seriously blew my mind. One of the best I've seen in a loonnggg time! Everything together was just perfect, the music, the visuals, the symbolism, the story... seriously, I'm in love.

I even wrote a college entrance essay on it... haha!

 

[Georgi]

Not The Best movie Ive ever seen but I loved the ballet details, like the preparation of the en pointe shoes and the rosin box. Ive seen it 2.5 times already in the past 3 days.

 

[Over the Sea]

I liked the movie, but I wasn't as impressed as everyone else. you have to see it more than once I think and I actually liked it more the second time I saw it.
I thought Natalie gave a good performance though, especially in the dancing scenes, they were really beautiful

 

[Aqua Tofana]

For some reason the black swan transformation reminded me of this video an awful lot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxZDp58UX_k
But hey, it's just me

 

[victorshmily]

OMG,me too!I was like: Love her

I just saw the movie and i was absolutely amazed by Natalie Portman. I also loved to see Winona Ryder, i was always such a huge fan of her.

 

[KoV]

Natalie Portman was great. The movie? Not so much.


This isn't my main issue with it or anything, but it bothered me that at the end, Nina feels like she's finally achieved perfection and it's supposed to be triumphant, in a way. However, earlier in the performance, she caused the man holding her to drop her. When the ballerina dancing the lead is involved in such a noticeable mistake, I'd hardly say that she achieved her goal of being perfect in the performance. I suppose she achieved in in PARTS of her performance, but not as a whole. That really bothered me. Mostly becuase I loved Nina as a character and wanted her to be perfect. haha

 

[melfreya]

^I think she achieved perfection by 'felting'' the Black Swan part as she says in the end

 

[colourmefashion]

i really enjoyed the movie when i watched it the other night.

like a lot of you said, the transformation into becoming the black swan was beautifully done.

 

[Georgi]

I saw Black Swan yesterday afternoon and I liked it, although I thought some parts of it were kind of strange, Just out of curiousity, does anyone know how much of her own dancing Natalie Portman did in it ?

I read that she trained w/NYC Ballet for 8h/day for a year for this part.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2011/jan/02/observer-profile-natalie-portman

 

[saann]

I've never been a fan of Portman but I would not be sad if she won the oscar, she was pretty outstanding in this and Aronofsky always brings out the best in his actors. My sister is all for Kidman but I think I might jump on the Portman for oscar train. I think her strongest scene was the one where she called her mother in the bathroom, such beautiful acting. I do think the transformation scene was excellent but I think that was more great editing/make-up/choreography/direction than acting.

One thing that I wondered is if she dies at the end? I know the main dies in the swan lake story, so does the same ending apply here?

 

[misspistol]

I've seen a couple of theories on the ending.
One theory was that there was no glass or wound. She managed to dance the entire part of the white swan without bleeding on her white dress and only discovered it after she landed on the mattress after achieving 'perfection'. So, that theory would mean no death, only more hallucinations.

In the ballet Odette dies, I don't think Odile does. I wonder if Nina the black swan lives and innocent white swan Nina dies?

 

[Drusilla_]

Not as good as Perfect Blue (Black Swan is an adaptation of that anime movie, set in the Ballet world and with some plot changes).

Finally someone said it!!!! I thought I was the only one who thought that, nice to know I have company. I wandered all over other forums and no one mentioned it (and Perfect Blue isn't exactly obscure, though people did refer to The Red Shoes).

It's a good film, yes, but by no means great- classic hyped-up Oscar bait.

 

[melfreya]

^^^Natalie Portman believes Nina doesn't die in the end. She says so in her David Poland interview (Poland doesn't think she dies too). Here's the link to her explaining this and skip to 12:16 if you don't want to see the whole interview:
http://moviecitynews.com/2010/11/black-swan-actor-natalie-portman/

I think she truly dies in the end, but I find the many interpretations of the end plausible too.

 

[saann]

Thanks for the replies on the ending, I guess it's up one self to interpret it the way you want to..

 

[Aqua Tofana]

Natalie Portman was great. The movie? Not so much.


This isn't my main issue with it or anything, but it bothered me that at the end, Nina feels like she's finally achieved perfection and it's supposed to be triumphant, in a way. However, earlier in the performance, she caused the man holding her to drop her. When the ballerina dancing the lead is involved in such a noticeable mistake, I'd hardly say that she achieved her goal of being perfect in the performance. I suppose she achieved in in PARTS of her performance, but not as a whole. That really bothered me. Mostly becuase I loved Nina as a character and wanted her to be perfect. haha

Haha, I thought I was the only one bothered by this! Seriously, even the most indifferent ballet spectators won't call the performance perfect if the lead dancer is dropped. Like Thomas said, 'This is a disaster'.
Perfection in parts of her performance, maybe.
Personally I can't even understand why did they put the dropping thing into the scenario. To make Nina even more nervous? Clearly she already had lost it it by that time, personally I think it was completely unnecessary.

 

[melfreya]

^I think it was done to show that she wrecked the part she was supposedly perfect for and aced the black swan part where she was expected to fail. Made the contrast more vivid imo. And her perfection came from ''felting'' the black swan's part

 

[Aqua Tofana]

I see your point... Thanks, it kind of makes more sense now

 

[Chaky]

I just watched it and must say my initial feelings are of being completely blown away by it. The ending just became insane and I was sort of holding my breath. From reading what others have said on here perhaps it had the impact because I've been very carefully avoiding reading anything about the film since it was released so no spoilers or anything.

I must admit I am a big Aronofsky fan and can see parallels between this and The Wrestler (which I also thought was great) in terms of the sacrifices one goes through in their personal life to produce a performance.

This was a perfect role for Natalie and it seems to me that it takes a certain director to bring out the best in her. With the wrong person I think she can be a little flat (and with George Lucas disastrous).

Would have liked more Winona in it though.