Michael Elliott
Senior HTF Member
SPOILERS................YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
The aspect of not knowing is what I loved so much. I think "surreal" filmmakers, for the most part, often confuse themselves by trying to be too clever or trying to deliver some sort of nightmare that in the end makes no sense and are only weird so that the director can call himself a surrealist.
I thought the film had a wonderful structure and in my mini-review I stated that it was like a puzzle and if one piece was out of place then the entire structure would have fallen and broke like glass. I think the entire thing was simply a part of a trouble woman's mind. I think Roger Ebert made a good point in that when artists try to do something perfect it's usually at the cost of something else. In this film she might have gotten the ballet down perfect but in return she lost her mind and eventually life. I'm sure if Nina had to do it all over again then should would have given her life for this one big performance.
I'm not a fan of the ballet and I must admit that I have no interest in going to one so perhaps my opinion of Swan Lake is incorrect or simply doesn't matches what that production is about. I thought the structure of the film is like many other dramas in that it was about jealousy, fear, sexuality and of course coming out from behind your mom's shadow. Everything Portman's character goes through is connected to that White/Black Swan. I think in order for Portman to be able to do the Black side of things she must have broken her own fears and confront her relationship with the mother as well as her own sexuality. At the same time it was this jealousy that eventually cost her life as she thought she was killing the rival when she in fact was killing herself.
I'm a die-hard horror fan but I hate horror fans who try to find horror elements in any movie just to try and say the genre is better than it actually is. Your comments about the horror film struck me as being so true. I was somewhat shocked to see how dark the film was but I thought it actually did a lot better than most horror movies of the past couple decades. I wouldn't call it a horror film but the elements are certainly there but I think it was more psychological horror like what we saw in TAXI DRIVER. It's funny but I told my girlfriend after watching the movie that this was the best example of getting into someones mad mind since the Scorsese film.
The events in the film, I guess, are going to be up to the viewer. I've read a few reviews that felt Portman was possessed by the ballet and that the events really happened to her. I personally don't believe that aspect but I wouldn't put anyone down for believing it. I think all the events we saw were simply her losing her mind and I think it's hard to say what "images" one would see if they were actually spinning out of control like her character was. These haunting images, to me, were just her mind pushing her so that she could succeed at doing the Black Swan dance. Without losing her mind she simply would have just remained the White Swan and never gotten her greatness.
The aspect of not knowing is what I loved so much. I think "surreal" filmmakers, for the most part, often confuse themselves by trying to be too clever or trying to deliver some sort of nightmare that in the end makes no sense and are only weird so that the director can call himself a surrealist.
I thought the film had a wonderful structure and in my mini-review I stated that it was like a puzzle and if one piece was out of place then the entire structure would have fallen and broke like glass. I think the entire thing was simply a part of a trouble woman's mind. I think Roger Ebert made a good point in that when artists try to do something perfect it's usually at the cost of something else. In this film she might have gotten the ballet down perfect but in return she lost her mind and eventually life. I'm sure if Nina had to do it all over again then should would have given her life for this one big performance.
I'm not a fan of the ballet and I must admit that I have no interest in going to one so perhaps my opinion of Swan Lake is incorrect or simply doesn't matches what that production is about. I thought the structure of the film is like many other dramas in that it was about jealousy, fear, sexuality and of course coming out from behind your mom's shadow. Everything Portman's character goes through is connected to that White/Black Swan. I think in order for Portman to be able to do the Black side of things she must have broken her own fears and confront her relationship with the mother as well as her own sexuality. At the same time it was this jealousy that eventually cost her life as she thought she was killing the rival when she in fact was killing herself.
I'm a die-hard horror fan but I hate horror fans who try to find horror elements in any movie just to try and say the genre is better than it actually is. Your comments about the horror film struck me as being so true. I was somewhat shocked to see how dark the film was but I thought it actually did a lot better than most horror movies of the past couple decades. I wouldn't call it a horror film but the elements are certainly there but I think it was more psychological horror like what we saw in TAXI DRIVER. It's funny but I told my girlfriend after watching the movie that this was the best example of getting into someones mad mind since the Scorsese film.
The events in the film, I guess, are going to be up to the viewer. I've read a few reviews that felt Portman was possessed by the ballet and that the events really happened to her. I personally don't believe that aspect but I wouldn't put anyone down for believing it. I think all the events we saw were simply her losing her mind and I think it's hard to say what "images" one would see if they were actually spinning out of control like her character was. These haunting images, to me, were just her mind pushing her so that she could succeed at doing the Black Swan dance. Without losing her mind she simply would have just remained the White Swan and never gotten her greatness.