Black Swan (2010) Review

It’s getting towards that time of year when all of the big Oscar contenders are released to audiences. With that in mind I decided to recently sit down and finally watch Black Swan for the first time. You may remember that after its release Black Swan was talked about as a major contender at all awards ceremonies; Natalie Portman’s performance as the main character was well received and she went on to win the Best Actress award at every single ceremony, not a bad performance then.

Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a ballet dancer that lands the lead role in her groups production of Swan Lake. Nina is perfect for the role of the White Swan but the lead role requires Nina to also play the Black Swan and as she becomes more and more like the Black Swan Nina begins to lose her mind. Portman is absolutely fantastic and she really plays the part perfectly, bringing with her this sense of a child-like, virgin pure, naive and innocent young dancer who is thrust into this role and is surrounded by highly charged sexual characters, not least Mila Kunis’s Lily. It is this role that led Mila Kunis to become one of the most desired women in the world and a certain scene with Natalie Portman is to thank for that, but Kunis’ performance on the whole is fantastic although it does seem as though she isn’t really in it that much as the drama focuses heavily on Portman. The leading man in Black Swan was Thomas Leroy, the man running the ballet company, played by Vincent Cassel. With such a strong performance from Portman it is easy to see why everyone else seems to be forgotten but Cassel’s performance was thoroughly enjoyable and he played the part so well and, in terms of how well the part was played, he was my favourite part of the film.

Black Swan was first talked about between Natalie Portman and director Darren Aronofsky back in 2000 so has worked out very well that it eventually became the masterpiece that it deserved to be. The way in which the film is shot is so wonderful, the use of mirrors, costume and colours really enhance the story telling for those looking beyond the surface of the screen. The imagery created by Aronofsky’s direction is superb and the deterioration of Nina’s mind really shines through.

I found the final half an hour of Black Swan to be one of the most enjoyable climax’s (I hate to use that word in the context of this film but it seems unavoidable) I have seen for a while. As a viewer you are always questioning what is real, what is Nina imagining and what is actually happening. And it seems that with every couple of minutes that unfold there is another surprise in store. Nina’s deterioration into madness is superbly shot and incredibly well handled in a way that makes it seem so haunting and disturbing.

Overall Black Swan is a very beautiful film and the whole of the cast puts in performance to be proud of. The only gripe I do have is that it seemed to be a bit of a slow starter and even though it built up suspense towards the end it did seem to lag at times.

My Rating: 8/10.

News of the Week (10/10/12) – Bale, Thurman & Hungry Hippos

Let’s get straight into it. American Bullshit. That was the original name of the film that Christian Bale has recently signed on for. The now untitled movie originally had Bale set to lead the ensemble cast but he dropped out, and now he has jumped back into the movie. When Bale dropped out he was replaced with the frankly quite obvious replacement Jeremy Renner. It has been announced that Renner and Bale will now both be in the project so everyone’s a winner! The film also stars Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper and will be directed by David O. Russell who previously worked with Bale on The Fighter.

Paul Dano, fresh from Ruby Sparks and Looper this past month has now signed on to what should be another film that will see positive press and Dano is fast becoming into a very recognisable and reliable face in the world of movies. The latest project he has signed on for is a revenge thriller entitled Prisoners. Prisoners is about a Boston man who kidnaps the person he suspects is behind the disappearance of his young daughter and her best friend. Hugh Jackman will be playing the lead role with Jake Gyllenhaal and Oscar winner Melissa Leo in support, so not half bad casting really.

A movie currently in production that is causing quite a stir is Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. The reason for all of the attention on this project is because it revolves around a woman beaten up and found in an alley, then cleaned up by a bachelor who finds her and along the way she recounts all the details of her sex life from when it began up until her 50s (why?). And it has been announced that Lars Von Trier wants the sex scenes to be completely real – he wants his cast to ACTUALLY have sex on film. Anyway, this week has seen Uma Thurman sign up to a cast that already includes Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Shia LaBeouf.

And finally, after all of that casting news there is some absolutely ridiculous news coming out this week that after the unsuccessful Battleships film, Hollwood execs are now planning to turn several other games into big blockbusters. Along with a Monopoly film, which has been in the works for some time now, an Action Man movie is being planned (which should lend itself to the medium more easily than others, perhaps). But the weirdest news is that a Hungry Hippos movie is being planned. It’ll be interesting to see how that one turns out.