Enjoyed the review? Share it...

Black Swan (2010)

By · In Drama, Mystery, Our Picks, Thriller

Black Swan - Movie Review

A ballet dancer wins the lead in “Swan Lake” and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan – Princess Odette – but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile the Black Swan. {official site}

Buy Now

HIS review
What an intense movie. I’ve heard of people going to see Black Swan expecting a nice film about ballet. How wrong were they! Just keep in mind who is directing (Darren Aronofsky) and be prepared for a challenging visceral experience.

Natalie Portman puts in a powerful and demanding performance as she takes on the role of Swan Queen, playing both White and Black Swan in the ballet Swan Lake. Her transformation is impressive and difficult to watch at times, but all the while worth it. Deserved of her Golden Globe.

As the movie progressed it looked to be in danger of becoming just another horror movie. Some scenes would have fit into most modern day horror flicks, but this is where the directing shone. Aronofsky takes us to the brink emotionally and visually, before bringing us to the powerful final act, proving this is no horror movie, this is an incredibly powerful story.

4.5 Popcorns - Him

HER review
My heart was in my mouth for most of this film! For some parts I had to look away it was so intense and almost unwatchable, some of the camera angles were really uncomfortable… but what a fantastic modern day adaptation of a classic. Very cleverly Darren Aronofsky has made a masterpiece. The casting of Natalie Portman was a risky one, she’s had some hits but some big misses too! However, she fits this role perfectly and is well worthy of an Oscar for her performance in my opinion. She obviously did a lot of work to prepare for this film and physically transform herself. I really loved it but I’m now hoping for a nice light comedy to take the edge off of all these dramatic films recently!!

What the public think
IMDb – 8.6 (Top 250) | Rotten Tomatoes – 88%

Trailer
If you are having trouble viewing this video, please click here.

Related posts:

Tagged with: • • • •
 
  • http://rorydean.wordpress.com/ rory dean

    Solid points all around. I pretty much knew going in that Aronofsky was going to deliver the goods. He’s such a brilliant, sophisticated filmmaker and it shows in each and every project he makes. He’s not about big budget, special effects films hiding ‘performance’ nor does he rely on overly and unnecessarily complicated plots to get at the heart of every story – character. This is the sort of film Inception could have been in the hands of Aronofsky (there I said, Mr. Nolan). Not that I’m not a fan of Nolan’s early films – he’s just forgotten the the aforementioned “first steps” to any great film, the tangible, the truthful, and the discreet that lives in each and every one of us.

    Portman was astounding and beside the emotional and psychological transformation she delivers is the very much overlooked physical performance. Some reviewers (I suppose they actually go to the ballet) criticized her dancing when in all actuality her work was no less transformative and expressive as say De Niro’s weight gain for Raging Bull or Clooney in Syria. I just read that De Niro spent four months learning to speak Italian/Sicilian for The Godfather Pt2. Dedication to craft.

    cheers->
    Rory
    Above the Line Movies