Despite being a B-Movie fan and a low brow/DIY enthusiast, I am not a fan of the "Europa" style of film making. The camera should to be secured by a rig; the shot should be stationary, and the placement of the elements (mise-en-scene) determines the final images and actions displayed. Shooting on a handheld is fine, but it cannot be the entire film. With these reservations towards a style that Lars von Trier is the so called innovator of, one maybe surprised when I declare Darren Aronofsky to be the definitive director of the last 10 years with "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler" being his last two films.
Since I reviewed "The Wrestler" for the Illinois Central College newspaper, all I have left is to review his latest picture for the masses, all 312 of them. I should just bite the bullet and try to buy add space at The Peoria Theater.
Nina Sayers has dedicated her life to her…and her mothers dream of becoming a great ballerina, and to be the star of a major production. With her company losing money, a change needs to be made, so the middle-aged star Beth MacIntyre will be replaced in directors Thomas "French pronunciations" LeRoy revision of "Swan Lake."
In this production, the star must be able to portray both the virginal White Swan and the seductive Black Swan. Nina's technique is pure and perfect for the White, but her sheltered life does not make her ideal for the Black. Fortunately, her determination sparks something in Thomas, and he is willing to take the risk in giving her the lead. Sadly, the pressure to become something she is not or refuses to be may not only cause the show to collapse, but Nina's sanity as well. With Lily, and ambitious dancer in the wings, feeding Nina's paranoia, is the pursuit of perfection worth losing herself?
"Black Swan" is a long drawn out film that finale rewards the audience's patience. Aronofsky always seems to bring out the best in his actors, and knows how to deliver scripts that seem to be ideal for other directors. This film's makes it seem like he can capture what Argento and Hitchcock seemed to have missed in their films while setting his style apart.
Natalie Portman's performance may not be as outstanding as Mickey Rourke's from "The Wrestler," but this character goes through a different experience that requires a more theatrical, less real approach. This is more of a trip through her head as she resists the need to grow up. The character is too old to be dealing with this coming of age, so Portman has to succeed at being awkwardly innocent to make the character seem real.
To assist with that, the story has a great and devious bunch of characters. All of them with one-dimensional bases, and we want them to be more than that. Seeing whether they are or are not keeps us interested, since we have the same hopes that Nina does. The crash of this mystical world in the final third brings the story back to the reality, and lets us know we were in the same fairy tale character as Nina for 108 minutes.
What makes this magical world work so well is that Aronofsky captures it in a minuscule way. There are visual effects that are brilliantly placed, and that such a low-scale style can incorporate these effects is marvelous. This shows the dynamic nature of the director when compared to "The Wrestler," a nature that most directors seem to avoid to embrace.
Dario Argento could have directed "Black Swan," but the characters would have been lost. Alfred Hitchcock could have directed this, but the subtleness would be lost. Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" shows that he is a one of a kind director in an age of those limited by past success.
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| mondotees.com |
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