BLACK SWAN (Dec 2010) R Director: Darren Aronovsky.
Writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin, Andrea Heinz.
Starring: Natalie Portman, Vincent Casell, Barbara Hershey, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan.
My God, but ballet is boring! Thank God for Natalie Portman masturbating!
The parallels with Aronofsky's own THE WRESTLER are innumerable. Once again, Aronfxky gets his lead to live the part of the character they are protraying - as Rourke did all his own wrestling, in BLACK SWAN, Portman does all her own dancing; like WRESTLER, SWAN is about a conflicted person at war with themselves;
who bring about their own demise. a person obsessivley committeed to their vocation.
Vincent Cassel - wants to do Swan Lake, but with an edge or whatever a "different" way - it's still girls on their toes and guys in penis-hugging tights. "done to death - but no one's done it like me"
Describes the story: the white swan trying to find love and the black swan beinge kept at bay - - warring for primacy. Of course, it's about her and her paranoid delusion. If the evil twin gets loose it will be the death of both of them.
Aronofsky loves the over-the-dsholder shot - works to great effect when you're onstage with the dancers, s we don't have to put up with actualyl seeing the ballet.
he knows how to disturb us with emotions and images - pulling the skin off her fingers, Winnona's leg all torn up.
such an esoteric art I don't claim to be an aficionado - but -what the ff---
and aronofsky actually lives up to this boast. He pulls off a "different" swan Lake - it's not only bearalbe - it's a fantastic drama.
self-mutilator
Nope, not a fan of ballet, but do appreciate the athleticism of the participants and the level of skill required to flap your arms about and stand on your tippy-toes. And the music that accompanies the ballet is sensational,
Swan Lake is famous enoug that we all know it. As Caseell says, "doe to ficking death, I know, but how else would he
hold our attention? as his characer sez, "We doing it a brand new way - so too Aronofky is actually doing Swan Lake ih own way. ! WE don't see much ballet (thank chrsit!) and that we do se, si from within - it's a remarkable film not only because of the perfrmacnes and labor of the players, but because Aronofcsky manged to make ballet watfchable!
Portman is raw, sensual, scary, timid, disturbing, psychotic, - you know, your average ballerina.
paranoid delusional. Portman is magnetic; we live every timid joy with her, every paranoid slight, every jilted insecurity, every perceived failing - all written on her face - and
it's not just the acting - Jesus Christ - look at that dancing! It's real - she had to become a ballerina for theis movie. ike director Araonofsky did with the wereslter - he made his lead live the role
The Portman wanking scenes (plural) and the sex scenes and the lesbo scene doesn't hurt.. only help...
These people are nothing but muscle and sinew. A shot focuses on a tutor's back as she flutters her arms and she is all corded steel, no flesh, not one ounce of superfluous fat, all corded steel, every muscle a cabled
Hershey perfectly cast as Portmans mother, looks like an older version of Natalie! - once a raving beauty herself, now living the role as a discarded --- and trying to remain vital.
portamn's swan neck
we see where she gets her bipolarity from - her mother is as nutty as she is. If she doesn't want the cake, hershey will just throw it all awy.
he keeps saying shs is stiff and too controlled - wants to see her impulsive and cutitng loose - and the thing is - it's true - itis such a stidued performace that Portamn imbues her with that tight frigidity, then later when she cuts loose we actualyl see what Vincent casell was talking about!
Unlike movies like EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS where Eddie critiques his band even thoguh they sound exactly like a tight studio recording, here we can see what Casell means.
Aronofcky loves his over-the-shoulder travelinf shots, used to such great effect in THE WRESTLER. Like that film, he has made his star actually BECOME the person they play in the film - Rourkw did all his wrestling and Portman does all her own dancing, or at least the vast majority (if they thrw in
camerwork is studiously crafty, working in and out of dancers onstage, tracking around characters disturbingly, tilts and reveals, strange sond effcets augmenting the disturbing quality of what's going on in her mind.
Kunis, no facn of hers, but she also does remarkable job as a more grounded ballerina who seemingly vies for Portamns role.
self-mutilaotr, paranoid obsessive, some startling scenes,
snesuality
CUCUMBER: as an indication of how ballet is looked down up by society. Ballet dancer David Hallberg performed on The colbert in Dec 2011. And while Hallberg was performing the biggest cheers hapend when Colbert came on in black tights and starteed twlinkling his toes around Hallberg. What a mocking display! Poor Hallberg was doing a good job with a painted smile, but he must have felt the condescion of Colbert's gag. Think about it: would Colbert - or anyone else - ever consider coming onstage and playing air giutar while a rock band is on??
such a manner - it is not the naatlie we see in any other movies, she's timid, soft-spoken, unsure, yet obsessive about her dancing, scared to say no, her mother has the same bi-polar persoanlity, we see where she gets it from - Barbara Hershey, once a dancer, now proud but overprotective, bordering on obsessive.
when natalie offends her "what career?" Barbara pecks back by focusing on Natalies obsessives picking of her skin.
BLACK SWAN (Dec 2010) R Director: Darren Aronovsky.
Writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin, Andrea Heinz.
Starring: Natalie Portman, Vincent Casell, Barbara Hershey, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan.
