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"Creativity"

Black Swan Review

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kuniz, Vincent Cassel

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Year: 2010

So Black Swan is one of those highly critically acclaimed movies of 2010. I actually got this, V for Vendetta, and Insidious all for three dollars. (I didn’t know I had accidentally bought two movies starring Natalie Portman) Anyway the movie is basically about a ballerina dancer who is given the part to play in the biggest and latest show. Her character onstage goes through a metamorphosis, and goes back and forth between a benevolent and innocent white swan, and a malevolent seductive black swan. But Natalie Portman’s character Nina basically is a perfectionist, but she’s a lot like the white swan. So even though her job is to "let go,” to her perfectionist ways to become the black swan onstage, she actually goes into her own metamorphosis as a person. Slowly but surely you see her character change more like her rival dancer, and acting like a total dick to her mom. She literally becomes mentally unstable, and starts to have hallucinations, which can have you saying what the hell is going on from time to time. First the acting and directing in this movie are the strong points. After seeing both this and V for Vendetta, I really think Natalie Portman is an amazing actress. Also the other actors, or should I say actresses (the dude count in this movie is pretty low) like Mila Kunis are also really well, and they’re characters are all very complex and having you trying to get on the inside of their head, especially Nina who almost narrates the movie. Also Darren Aronofsky is a great director. And since seeing the Wrestler I’ve named all endings similar to its ending "A Wrestler ending,” which Black Swan has. I guess Darren just likes those kinds of endings that the Grey or this movie have where the climax and end of the movie are only seconds apart. Anyway, how well is the movie? It’s really good, but in that Oscar sense obviously. It’s very well done, and has you thinking a lot. It’s a excellent film, but that doesn’t mean it’s by far close to perfect. How often am I going to watch Black Swan? Not often. But I can’t say it isn’t just really well done, and I really doubted liking a movie about ballerina dancing, but yeah, I did. If anything this made me kind of respect it just a little more, you know. For instance Natalie Portman’s character has all these bruises on her feet, all the other chicks at the dance place think she just slept with the guy to get the part and basically make her life a living hell, I mean it doesn’t look easy in the slightest. Anyway another really cool things is the tone and production style they used. Just the use of mirrors was really cool, and the tone is really one that isn’t like any other movie. One of the best parts is just how unique it is as a movie, and that certainly helps. Also probably the best thing about the movie is Natalie Portman’s transformation. You really watch it from ever angle and really break it down as it’s happening. That being said there was a moment or two I think they stretched a little far. I mean in the end it worked wonderfully, but along the way there were so many dramatic moments that you were wondering came from a certain use of drug use. And there were a lot of moments you were like, "Holy shit that just happened!” then later they’re like, "Oh… but did it happen?” Then it didn’t happen! Then your wondering what exactly just happened, and somehow it actually works. And the ending, it was a Wrestler ending, but it was actually really good, and if somebody told me what it was halfway through the movie I’d really doubt it, but no it happened. Also the character relationships are more about their existence. Like Mila Kunis’s character was simply a tool to inflict certain emotions upon Nina. Same with the mom. Mila Kunis was the person who brought out Nina’s black swan, and her mom brought out her white swan. Only difference is Nina doesn’t make out with her mom… yeah. You know that every dude that was dragged to this movie by their girlfriend was glad they came when they saw Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman make out. Anyway, this is easily a great movie, it’s a high eight for me. Sure it’s nice artsy movie, and really creative and intriguing but it’s not the super fun movie I pick up off my shelf much. Also I had some gripes with the overdramatic moments at times, also I felt the writing although really good, wasn’t fantastic by any means. Anyway really great movie, I surprisingly liked it, and I think why I liked it so much the first time I saw it was because I was so surprised. Lastly it’s simply a great movie, and really well done, and deserved the Oscars that it got.

Black Swan gets a 4/5

Spoilers: Okay, really weird unnecessary scene? There was a moment when Nina was going home on the Subway, and there was this creepy old dude who was like this ready to rape her. He’s this old dude just licking his lips and grabbing his balls… why was that in there? And Natalie Portman just sits there! She says nothing to that! I would like the scene if she randomly pulled a baseball bat and knocked him upside the head. Or at least tell him to fuck off, don’t just sit there! Anyway, another part that got it the Wrestler ending was Nina dies at the end, and the end of the movie was only seconds after the climax. Nina was such a perfectionist she killed herself in the midst of trying to just be perfect. But she’s still happy, she was perfect, so happy ending right? Not really. Well, you decide. (It’s not) It’s actually a really complex ending, no it’s actually a really complex movie.