Review: "BLACK SWAN"

Nina is a dedicated ballet dancer, who dreams of being the star of her company.  Her chance comes when she is unexpectedly offered the role of the Swan Queen in "Swan Lake".  The part demands that one dancer play two diametrically opposed characters: the White Swan, and the Black Swan.  Beautiful and frigid, Nina plays the White Swan with conviction, but struggles with the baser nature of the Black.  Fearful of losing the role to another dancer, Nina begins to delve into the depths of her own darkness.

In spite of being a film maker, it takes a lot for me to go to the cinema.  The film has to excite me, or else create so much hype that I go out of curiosity.  "Black Swan" falls into the latter category, and so my (very low) expectations were exceeded.

It was good, I was riveted.  The film is based on Jungian psychological concepts of projection and repression:  Nina (Portman), the product of an overbearing and unfulfilled mother, sees darkness everywhere in the world because she refuses to see it within herself.  If you're not into Jung, Aronofsky keeps your attention by using every shock tactic there is.  Horror sound effects, mutilation, lesbian sex scenes:  this film has it all.  Riveting, like I said.  Until about half way through when it all started to get a bit much.  Aronofsky isn't exactly known for his subtly: but did he really have to make Portman start looking like the monster from "Jeepers Creepers"?  I came out of the cinema feeling like I was on drugs and someone had just hit me in the face.

Nonetheless, I do think it's a film worth seeing on the big screen.  It's visually beautiful, and Portman (who I've never been a fan of) gives an incredible performance, on par with any of the Hollywood greats.  Give that lady the Oscar - she deserves it.

'NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN'

This story unfolds in the desertlands of the Southern States, when a cold blooded murderer, a hunter who has stumbled upon $2 million in drug money, and an aging sheriff become embroiled in the same crime. A game of cat and mouse ensues, and there's no telling who will triumph or be sacrificed.

The simple plot is typical to the Western genre, but in the hands of the Coen brothers it becomes a gripping journey into the depths of the human psyche. Blending their characteristic darkness with an unmistakable Hitchcockian unpredictability, the viewer is left feeling like this is a world where anything could happen.

The film echoes Dante's 'Inferno', and their other hellish thriller "Barton Fink". The three protagonists seem to represent universal archetypes that stand apart from the average human. Anton Chigurh, the murderer: ruthless, supremely powerful, and disgusted by the stupidity, weakness and lack of dignity he perceives in people. Llewelyn Moss, the hunter: a brave and independent spirit, rebelling against the forces that Chigurh has imposed. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell - a man who is searching for what's good.

The world the brothers create in "No Country" could be perceived as a symbol for the world at large: inhabited by simple, guileless people, who have very little control of their destiny, and rampaged by the force of evil. Those with intellect and heart earn a begrudging respect but ultimately can hope to find solace only in the fold of death. Outside it, evil, even when faced with its own mortality, will always triumph. A pretty bleak look at the world, even by the Coen Brothers' standards!

This is an evocative, beautifully shot piece of film making. Although I wonder if 8 Oscar Nominations wasn't a bit of an exaggeration?

8 out of 10.