Writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz.
Rating: 18 SG (for graphic violence and sexual contents)
Who's in it: Natalie Portman (Nina), Mila Kunis (Lily), Vincent Cassel (Leroy), Winona Ryder (Beth M), Barbara Hershey (Nina's mom).
The story (warning, spoilers ahead):
Black Swan takes us backstage to one of the world's most prestigious live performance, the ballet. Acclaimed ballet director, Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decided to open the season with a new interpretation of the Swan Lake. In his version, both the white and black swans will be played by the same lead (which means whoever gets the role will be crowned the new "queen" of the troupe). Thus begins the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina struggling to reach the top at the price of her own sanity and in the end her life (yes, Nina died at the end of the movie just like the white swan). After going through a disappointing audition, she decided to pay a "personal" visit to the director's office and was eventually named the new swan queen. That is when the problem starts. Nina suffers from nervous breakdown after being pushed to her limit by both the director and her mother. The director urging her to shed her frigid, seemingly perfect image to better embody the evil side of the black swan while her neurotic mother (a retired ballerina who blames Nina for ending her career) refuses to let her grow and treats her like the perfect little white swan she never got to be. She suffers from depression, paranoia and hallucinations which eventually lead to her death at the end of the movie.
Is it worth watching?
Black swan is a psycho thriller. Director Darren Aronofsky gave us a peek at the ugly truth behind the seemingly perfect world of ballet. Despite their graceful appearance on stage, the dancers suffer from insecurities, jealousy, unrequited love, repressed sexual desires and severe case of eating disorders. Nina is the perfect representation of an artist suffering for her arts. The whole movie centers around her transformation from the frigid, stiff and emotionless white swan to the sexually charged, violent and murderous black swan. The scene where the black swan stabs the white swan in the stomach with a piece of broken glass and left her to die gave me chills down the spine. The liberal use of CGI was perfectly executed to enhance the visual hallucinations she gets throughout the movie. Her eventual transformation into the black swan, sprouting pitch black wings from her body is a scene not to be missed. A word of caution, be prepared for some heavy dose of female masturbation and lesbian sex scenes. This movie is definitely NOT for family viewing.
Awards buzz:
This movie is up for four awards in the upcoming Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Performance by an Actress in Motion Picture (Drama) for Natalie Portman, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Drama) for Mila Kunis and Best Director for Darren Oronofsky. This movie is up against not one but two globe favorites: The Social Network and The King's Speech. Darren Oronofsky faces tough competition from fellow directors Christopher Nolan (Inception), David Fincher (The Social Network) and Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). Mila Kunis has little chance at clinching an award for her limited appearance (but not limited in talent, and at times she even manage the steal the scene). I am rooting for Natalie Portman to clinch her first ever Globe for her wonderful portrayal of a beautiful ballerina with serious mental issues. Her only rival for the night would be Halle Berry for an equally disturbing portrayal of a woman suffering from split personality (another mental case) and Nicole Kidman as a mother battling with depression after losing her son in a car accident (yet another mental case). Judging from the severity of their onscreen symptoms, I believe Natalie Portman has the best chance at winning this year's globe for best actress and hopefully an Oscar in the upcoming Academy Awards.
The snob's verdict: 8/10 (but very close to 9)
If you're itching for another psycho-thriller with a lesbian theme, i strongly recommend Chloe by Eton Egoyan.
Is it worth watching?
Black swan is a psycho thriller. Director Darren Aronofsky gave us a peek at the ugly truth behind the seemingly perfect world of ballet. Despite their graceful appearance on stage, the dancers suffer from insecurities, jealousy, unrequited love, repressed sexual desires and severe case of eating disorders. Nina is the perfect representation of an artist suffering for her arts. The whole movie centers around her transformation from the frigid, stiff and emotionless white swan to the sexually charged, violent and murderous black swan. The scene where the black swan stabs the white swan in the stomach with a piece of broken glass and left her to die gave me chills down the spine. The liberal use of CGI was perfectly executed to enhance the visual hallucinations she gets throughout the movie. Her eventual transformation into the black swan, sprouting pitch black wings from her body is a scene not to be missed. A word of caution, be prepared for some heavy dose of female masturbation and lesbian sex scenes. This movie is definitely NOT for family viewing.
Awards buzz:
This movie is up for four awards in the upcoming Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Performance by an Actress in Motion Picture (Drama) for Natalie Portman, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Drama) for Mila Kunis and Best Director for Darren Oronofsky. This movie is up against not one but two globe favorites: The Social Network and The King's Speech. Darren Oronofsky faces tough competition from fellow directors Christopher Nolan (Inception), David Fincher (The Social Network) and Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). Mila Kunis has little chance at clinching an award for her limited appearance (but not limited in talent, and at times she even manage the steal the scene). I am rooting for Natalie Portman to clinch her first ever Globe for her wonderful portrayal of a beautiful ballerina with serious mental issues. Her only rival for the night would be Halle Berry for an equally disturbing portrayal of a woman suffering from split personality (another mental case) and Nicole Kidman as a mother battling with depression after losing her son in a car accident (yet another mental case). Judging from the severity of their onscreen symptoms, I believe Natalie Portman has the best chance at winning this year's globe for best actress and hopefully an Oscar in the upcoming Academy Awards.
The snob's verdict: 8/10 (but very close to 9)
If you're itching for another psycho-thriller with a lesbian theme, i strongly recommend Chloe by Eton Egoyan.
some heavy dose of female masturbation and lesbian sex scenes - Like!
ReplyDeleteah zan hehehe,car dvd pirate baru tak potong
ReplyDelete