Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

DISCLAIMER PLEASE READ: (a) this review is very long; (b) this review contains spoilers, and (c) this review represents my subjective opinions of a motion picture. If any aspect intimidates or offends you, please read no further. How far must an artist go to actualize perfection in his work? When must a parent acknowledge an adult child's autonomy and independence? Are exploitation, manipulation, and sexual abuse good tools for a teacher to encourage artistic talent's maturation to its fullest potential? Where exists the ultra-thin boundary separating eccentric genius from psychotic workaholic and when has an artist crossed it? If an actor sinks too deep "into character," how does s/he escape? I didn't enjoy "Black Swan." It's not that I don't comprehend the significant themes visited in the film. It's not I don't appreciate the film's good points (nice music and cinematography, pretty good costumes and sets, great casting.) It's not that I lack analytical ability or intellectual refinement. I watched "Black Swan" twice and took a day to consider what I liked and disliked about the film and it ultimately boiled down to the mediocre storyline, poor writing (especially dialogue) and the excessive pornographic content disguised as "art" in the movie. What I Really Liked: 1) The ballet performances were lovely, not earth-shattering, but very well acted. The backlash concerning Portman's dance is ridiculous. Portman is a film star who trained for a year so she wouldn't make a fool of herself portraying a prima ballerina. She achieved that. She isn't the next Gelsey Kirkland, don't expect the polished precision of a world-class professional ballerina who's done the same work for years. Portman and Kunis dance competently and both actresses interject beautiful emotion and physical acting into their admittedly brief dance scenes. I would've liked seeing more ballet performed in the film with or without the actresses. The film's opening scene really captured me and I enjoyed the final performance. I simply wanted to see more of it. There are some interesting special effects I felt neither enhanced nor detracted from the dance. 2) I found the soundtrack compelling, charming, and eerily beautiful. I believe Peter Tcaikovsky, a very innovative composer in his own day, would be enchanted by Clint Mansell's compositions reimagining his work. At times familiar, in other places creepily original, the soundtrack helps carry this film. 3) Costumes, sets, and lighting: almost always, these elements were carefully neutral which forced viewers' attention onto the actors and actresses (physical action, body language, and spoken dialogue.) The cast's clothing and accessories seemed color coordinated to identify the darker characters and the lighter ones. Lily always wears black or charcoal. Nina wears lots of white and girly pale pink. 4) Casting: the talent was very good and well-suited to their respective roles. Natalie Portman's character, Nina, carries most of the work and Portman did a fine job. Whatever my opinion of the movie, I applaud Portman's hard work in interpreting a complicated role. Dance involves acting and Portman portrayed a dancer portraying a character to whom the dancer could not relate. Portman earned her Oscar. Supporting actress Mila Kunis's Lily provided an excellent foil to Nina. Barbara Hershey (Nina's controlling mother) makes the most of the material she's given and does surprisingly well. I wasn't never fully convinced what Mom's motives were. On the one hand, she came across as frighteningly intrusive and controlling. At the same time, I think the script hinted Mom's awareness of and concern for her daughter's fragile mental state. She seemed to want Nina to succeed, but also protect her from success. Winona Ryder makes waves as drama queen Beth McIntyre, the company's former prima ballerina who's not handling her pending retirement gracefully. For the pittance of screen time she has, Ryder knows how to draw attention to herself. Finally, Vincent Cassel portrays Thomas Leroy, the most thankless role in the film, a stereotypical, Eurotrash ballet director and unapologetic sexual predator eager to take advantage of a newer, younger prima ballerina now that Beth's retiring. This guy is smarmy, gross, and prone to coaching his principles during rehearsal with helpful comments like, "David, can I ask you? Honestly, would you f*(k that girl? ... Nina, your dancing is just as frigid ... " I literally gagged when he informed Nina, "I'll be the prince" as he took over the male lead so he could grope and fondle Nina in order to inspire the "passion" Nina lacks to channel the Black Swan. Cassel's a very good villain. I would let this slime work with my daughter when elephants roost in trees. What I Really Disliked: 1) The ambiguous storyline reaches "fiction that doesn't make sense" mode. Ambiguity is a natural result of Nina's unreliable perspective, but too much is never resolved. "Black Swan" could easily be one of those films or shows where the protagonist wakes up and realizes s/he was only dreaming, daydreaming, in a coma, hallucinating due to illness/injury from which s/he has recovered, etc.. Those scenarios, even when well done, always leave me feeling a bit ripped off. 2) Unlikeable Characters: I don't like a single personality in this film. These are not flawed, relatable human people, these are unlikeable, unpleasant human people with every wart on show. Even the bit characters behave abominably (i.e., Veronica cursing out Nina and accusing her of "making sick jokes" after Nina, misled by LeRoy, congratulates the dancer on her successful audition for the Swan Queen.) Most of the characters are shockingly amoral. Drug abuse, one night stands, suicide and/or attempted suicide, and self-mutilation are all on the menu. Nina also vomits frequently; it's unclear if she is bulimic or if her vomiting is symptomatic of other problems. Every character lacked depth, including Nina. One thing that struck me during my second viewing is that I never got the impression Nina really loved ballet. That disturbed me the more I considered it. I mean, the entire point of the movie is Nina's struggle for knowledge/experience to do her role justice. She didn't seem to love dance, or even like it much. Obsession isn't necessarily love. Nina's loveless obsession with dance would have bothered me less had the film shown us what or who Nina DID love or care about. What I can't Stand: 1) The dialogue is awful. Just awful. There is nothing natural, flowing, or normal in how people speak to each other in this film. 2) "Black Swan" contains heavy sexual content, most of it a gratuitous distraction from the main plot (or maybe it's intended to distract viewers from the plot's flimsiness and help fill in film time.) I admit I'm usually turned off by too much nudity or sex in a movie, and this was just ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is the possibility these experiences are actually Nina's hallucinations. Make no mistake, this movie is pornographic. This isn't erotic content, the sexual excesses do not court an emotional response in the viewer, nor are the scenes titillating. How much sex is in this film? Shenanigans start about 50 minutes into the film and continue almost to the end. A) Leroy forces himself upon Nina during a rehearsal session, kissing and groping her ... then leaving her high and dry and terming his behavior "me seducing you, but it needs to be the other way around." What planet is Leroy (or the writer who created Leroy) from? Seriously, Nina is not the only one in need of regular contact with a qualified mental health care professional. Leroy isn't sexy or seductive, he's gross. B) Nina masturbates several times. Each masturbatory "session" involves a bizarre "payoff." In one situation Nina is deeply "into" it and discovers her mother sound asleep in a chair alongside her bed. While dozing and masturbating in the bathtub, Nina hallucinates Lily spitting or dropping blood on her (sounds real sexy, huh? NOT!) C) On a train, Nina is victimized by ANOTHER pervy old guy (I guess Leroy's perviness isn't sufficient.) Her fellow passenger blows kisses at her and fondles his crotch while she struggles to look away and pretend nothing is happening. Apparently, phoning the authorities isn't an option. D) Nina and Lily sexuality -- just plain gratuitous and in poor taste. Yes, I know a dozen people are gonna chime in, "But it's so meaningful! It demonstrates Nina's desperation to free herself of her white swan persona and seek relief from her mother's intrusive, domineering control." I found it disruptive and irrelevant. Lily is an obvious "frenemy" to Nina and a completely unbelieveable character (frequently late to rehearsals, living a busy night life, sexually promiscuous, a substance abuser) NOTE: Nina also fantasizes Lily smothers her with an accent pillow after orally pleasuring her, but no reviewers are complaining THAT portion of her "escapist fantasy" wasn't depicted in greater detail. Hardy har har. E) Nina hallucinates Lily having sex with another dancer, costumed as Von Rothbart, in the studio. Yes, folks, this passes for Oscar nominee material in the 21st century. Maybe if the creators axed some of the porn and wrote in a bit more story, this film might have actually gone somewhere. I'd rate "Black Swan" 3 stars for the talent, music, and the cinematography if the film revealed a worthwhile, engaging story. The purpose of film is to entertain, and this film does not do that. One star is the best rating I can offer BS due to its failings as an engaging storytelling vehicle.