Sunday, February 6, 2011

David recommends . . . THE BLACK SWAN

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Do you like ballet? Then this may not be for you. A high culture pal of mine reported that THE BLACK SWAN is one of the most violent films they'd seen. Relax, it's not Driller Killer, or even Reservoir Dogs. But I've not seen an audience look away from the screen so much since The Exorcist. This is the bunny boiler version of The Red Shoes.

I was completely gripped by TBS. I've never been able to take ballet seriously, not seeing how standing let alone shuffling about on tiptoe has aesthetic value. And as for the bit where they run the length of the stage to jump two feet into the air, well it's nature's way of showing that the human power to weight ratio means watching real birds take off will always be more beautiful. 

But TBS is not really about the ballet. It's about competitive women going bonkers through under-eating, pushy Moms, and sexual frustration. Yes, it's Black Narcissus with extra Freud on the side.  A great drama / thriller with a good script, well-directed. And I've always loved the music to Swan Lake, which here is edited into the off-stage action superbly, as well as the dancing itself.

Two criticisms. 

The first half is a wonderful interplay of relationships between 5 people, with Natalie Portman's troubled Nina at the hub. But i the second half we focus in on Nina's inner world so much that the other characters are shifted to the periphery. That's down to the script, but I can;t help feeling that a true master of the psycho-genre like Hitchcock would have been able to retain the interplay between inner and outer worlds.

Second caveat is, sorry here I go again, political. You may not notice this because of the terrific edge-of-seat drama, but TBS is yet another movie which features those dodgy cliches linking women with madness, creativity with madness, and madness with violence. 

But don't let that stop you from seeing it. TBS is even better than the King's Speech, being far more of a roller coaster ride in its passionate tensions. And it's worth thte ticket price just for the maturing Portman's excellent performance. She must be the front runner in a competitive field for the Best Actress Oscar.


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