Black Swan: Why I'm Glad I'm Not a Ballerina

Whoo! Black Swan, y'all! Raise your hand if you saw this movie?!? Raise your hand if you're glad you'll never have to put on toe shoes to make a little scratch?!? I'm a dancer at heart, so I was really excited to see this movie. REALLY EXCITED. Before the movie, several friends had told me this was "disturbing." So, I ventured out to a Friday noon showing of this Oscar nom film. The thrifty part of my brain smuggled a sandwich and Cheetos into the theater. The guilty, I've never-been-a-great-liar part of my brain felt obligated to buy a drink. Since bottled water and Miller Lite ARE THE SAME PRICE at The Magnolia Theater, I opted for some beer to get me through Darren Aronofsky's production.

Black Swan tells the tale of Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) who is a near perfect ballerina. Which is all the more reason director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassell) is reluctant to cast her to play both the white and black swan for the New York City Ballet's contemporary version of such a traditional performance. But with some persuasion, Nina convinces the director to cast her. But Nina has some serious baggage, y'all. The white and black swan parallel Nina's inner struggles with her alter ego. Her relationship with the new girl to the company, Lily (Mila Kunis) is well, interesting, to say the least.  Dancing, drama, sex, betrayal. What doesn't this movie have? And if you've ever dabbled in any other Aronofsky productions, (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler) then you know a pure, clean, linear interpretation is far from what the director sees as an end product. Was this movie disturbing? Yes. Will I see this movie again? Probably not. Does this movie deserve the Oscar nom? YES. And so does Natalie Portman. That Best Actress category is chock full of some great lady talent, but I'll be shocked if she doesn't sweep this category. She was amazing.

I asked my friend Ross Taylor to chime in on Black Swan because he always has a good, sound opinion of film. Ross and his wife Sally are dear friends of mine and we always enjoy dishing on anything related to the visual and performing arts.  Sally is a well-respected, Dallas-based artist. You can see more of Sally's works on her website, or better yet, stop by her gallery located in Snider Plaza:

Sally Taylor Paintings
6606 Snider Plaza
Dallas, TX
info@sallytaylorpaintings.com

ROSS TAYLOR'S TWO CENTS...

I’m getting a bit annoyed with everybody (my wife included) complaining about Black Swan being “too dark”. I understand the sentiment. It’s a dark movie. But I hate that distinction. Sure, you probably need to know what you’re getting yourself into but if you avoid this movie just because you wish it was “Center Stage” then – well, then you probably just need to stick to movies like “Center Stage,” where ballerinas so realistically dance to “The Way you Make me Feel”.

So, it’s dark. Just like (it turns out) the ballet “Swan Lake”; which, aside from being the production at the center of this movie, also lends the movie its plot. And yes, as goes the ballet, so goes the movie. If we could all please just get on the same page about the damned darkness of the movie and critique it based on that instead of judging it for that, I think we’d all be much better off.

Like the ballet, the movie sucks you in from minute one. The hyper-realistic, invasively close-up camera work pairs perfectly with the similarly raw art direction that serves as the backdrop for every scene. As this movie is just as much an invitation into the world of professional ballet, you as the viewer truly feel immersed in that world, whether you like it or not. It’s not quite what you would expect and the director, Darren Aronofsky, unflinchingly pulls back the curtain as the moviegoer gets plunged into the backstage life of this truly performance-based universe.

At the center we find Nina Sayers, brought to life exquisitely by Natalie Portman. Sayers has essentially staked everything in her life on succeeding as a ballerina, on being the lead in Swan Lake. Portman perfectly portrays the push and pull evident in this character as she boldly and recklessly goes for what she wants while at the same time is constantly reminded (as the viewer is) that she is stuck with the emotional capacity (and body) of an adolescent girl. Completely smothered by her mother, painfully eager for attention and approval from her director, and unable to form relationships of any substance with her ballerina friends, Sayers is a prime target for the type of mindtrip that being the lead at her company seems to cause.

Portman is surrounded by other great performances throughout the movie as her story starts to echo Swan Lake more and more terrifyingly. Mila Kunis kicks up her acting game to square off with Portman as her darker alter-ego. Winona Ryder, while limited in screen time, manages to convey perfectly the route that Sayers’ new career path will likely take.

For such a “dark” movie, I found myself sitting back and enjoying what Aronofsky would do next and watching Portman navigate the ins and outs of her characters delusions as they crescendo towards what can only be described as a flawless finish. Bravo.