Black Swan — Page 5

Well she can do far better than Culkin

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"Also, I'm a bit uncomfortable with this exploration of the "darker side of being a woman." Really, Hollywood? You're as bad as the ballet world."

You're giving the script too much credit, and I write this as somebody who liked the film. The plot is so pronounced with the Madonna-Whore complex within the movie itself.

let me preface this : Swan Lake was the 1st ballet I ever saw ( Lac II -the Black Swan sequence)It retains a powerful hold on me now and probably always. So I was interested in seeing what they would do with this. Frankly, Portman and Kunis did a lot better than i thought a untrained dancer could have. The dance sequences are lovely ( did laugh out loud tho when the Little Swans come off the stage and one says "we sucked "... a dance piece that is done routinely in dance recitals in schools around the world? - all ya hafta do is up and down left and right if you suck in it u really SUCK!!)
Yes I know they did intensive work prior to the filming but seriously, @ their age their body shape is pretty set w regard to things like turn out et all.
Of course it helps when you know what to photograph and what to slide over too. ( Aronsky -credit when due)
There are so many "homages"( DON'T call it stealing!!!) to other
dance and theatre films its exhausting! ( All About Eve and The Unfinished Dance came particularly to mind as well as Suspira and of course The RED Shoes)
Loved Winona Rider as Beth and Hershey was having a ball chewing all her scenery ( for the record I don't think she is QUITE as evil as she is viewed and esp don't think she was "doing" her daughter)
Portman was OK BUT I can see why people in the ballet are not so happy with this film- yes it's an intense incestious(sic) little world but really - it doesn't make sense as to HOW a dancer would progress from school to company (poss to chorus) and now at soloist would make the jump ( and it is ) to one of the showiest most demanding roles in any repertoire. Even someone as dedicated to her technique as Nina is supposed to be. She only seems to be able to do the tender suffering role- what else could the character have danced to have her even considered for this role? The Mazurka in Swan Lake? The Spanish dance in Nutcracker? ALL of these ( and many more) require strong technique but even more- SOME acting ability, if the dancer doesn't (at least) seem to enjoy their performance- the audience won't either.

It has been a while since I saw it, but did anyone at the end see any kind of injury/blood during or after the dance? Was that another thing that was only in her head?

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Jersey-

The camera avoids the wound/where the wound would be until just before she jumps. I specifically looked out for any blood during the dance when I saw it a third time, and it's pretty obvious the filmmakers didn't want us to see.

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SPOILER

Roscoe, not so sure I agree with you on the ending. I've seen it 3 times, and I can't say I am convinced that Nina has killed herself.

I love the film. It's wonderful. But it's far from brilliant- at least on any level other than how fun it is to watch. But does it need to be anything more? It's a breakdown on film, plan and simple. I'd love to hear what the writers/Aronofsky think about this movie. I wonder what they were actually going for.

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AmericanBoy, it's painfully obvious that she killed herself. The swan dies, and in her quest for perfection, she dies. It's very simple.

SPOILER ALERT

can i just say..i saw this for the third time yesterday..and aside from you seeing NO blood during the entire last act when nina is dancing..just before nina jumps it shows a shot of her mother..then a close-up of nina and the cut..then it goes to a wide shot of the stage and from that shot i didn't see any blood on the costume. i know it works better that she would die at the end of the movie but like everyone is saying...she is crazy..its possible..

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***SPOILER***

If I remember correctly, we see that she has stabbed herself when she is in the dressing room. When she goes back onstage, we don't see the blood because we're back in her head and she's not thinking about it. At the end, we see the blood, because we're thrown back into reality as she expires.

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We can agree to disagree on the ending. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but- hey- does it matter?

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Jane2--hello, old friend!

My take was exactly the same as Jane's, for what it's worth.

The Globe and Mail interviewed som dancers from the National Ballet of Canada- The Q & A has some interesting remarks:
Dishing on "The Black Swan"

"I thought Bening was brilliant (in a much less showy role) in AMERICAN BEAUTY"

Bitch, please, Bening was pure camp in AMERICAN BEAUTY. If anything, Swank's performance was subtler. Her voice, her mannerisms were waaaaay quieter than Bening, who's either screaming or laughing her head off left and right.

Also, add me to those who think that CHICAGO doesn't hold up well. I mean, the opening number is still brilliant and the movie keeps pace right up until after Velma does her little song & dance for Roxie. But after that, it loses steam fast and the finale is just horrible. All the MTV music video flashy editing goes a long way.

And WTF with Oscar noms for Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly? I thought it ridiculous then, too. They each had one good (not great) song, but other than that their roles were rather nondescript.

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