Black Swan
Just got back from finally seeing Black Swan. This is possibly the best film I've seen since Inception, but I'm going to have a hard time working out why. I guess my personal measure of movie greatness is how much of a reaction it left me with, and this one certainly had an impact.
Other than a single dissenter whose opinions usually diametrically oppose my own, the group I saw it with unanimously agreed that Black Swan is amazing. I think we were all a little shaky when leaving the cinema. A couple said 'I can't talk about this... I just have to go home.' One thing that everyone else said was that it was very scary and freaked them out. It didn't have this effect on me, perhaps because I've watched one too many freaky animes or because I'm just twisted, but it did have my pulse pounding from beginning to end. I was going to catch the Night Rider bus home but ended up getting a cab, because I just kinda wanted to be alone with my reaction.
I found myself thinking halfway through that I'd never seen a film with this particular tone before - frenetic, disturbed and unrelenting, giving a real sense of being unable to escape what is happening. I think the editing and sound design were mainly responsible for this. Normally I'm not a fan of loud, unsubtle musical scores and atmospheric sound, but here it really worked. Every single relief of tension in the film was a little less relief and a little more ominous than the previous, right up to the finale, by which point I was completely seduced and owned by the movie. Natalie Portman's excellent performance doesn't hurt either.
I've seen Black Swan compared to Perfect Blue, but I don't think this is very accurate. I see the similarities, but they are shared by quite a few films, and Black Swan pulls it off very differently and much better. It ends on a perfect note. I don't want to say anything about the plot of the film; I think it's better enjoyed knowing as little as possible. Since it's been out in the US for quite some time now, hints about the content and plot directions were well and truly hitting my ears by the time I saw it, and I wish they hadn't. Still, no big deal.
So yeah, drop everything and go see Black Swan, preferably late at night and in a nearly empty cinema. That is, unless you don't do well with slightly disturbing imagery and a dollop of body horror, because this film delivers on both counts.
Other than a single dissenter whose opinions usually diametrically oppose my own, the group I saw it with unanimously agreed that Black Swan is amazing. I think we were all a little shaky when leaving the cinema. A couple said 'I can't talk about this... I just have to go home.' One thing that everyone else said was that it was very scary and freaked them out. It didn't have this effect on me, perhaps because I've watched one too many freaky animes or because I'm just twisted, but it did have my pulse pounding from beginning to end. I was going to catch the Night Rider bus home but ended up getting a cab, because I just kinda wanted to be alone with my reaction.
I found myself thinking halfway through that I'd never seen a film with this particular tone before - frenetic, disturbed and unrelenting, giving a real sense of being unable to escape what is happening. I think the editing and sound design were mainly responsible for this. Normally I'm not a fan of loud, unsubtle musical scores and atmospheric sound, but here it really worked. Every single relief of tension in the film was a little less relief and a little more ominous than the previous, right up to the finale, by which point I was completely seduced and owned by the movie. Natalie Portman's excellent performance doesn't hurt either.
I've seen Black Swan compared to Perfect Blue, but I don't think this is very accurate. I see the similarities, but they are shared by quite a few films, and Black Swan pulls it off very differently and much better. It ends on a perfect note. I don't want to say anything about the plot of the film; I think it's better enjoyed knowing as little as possible. Since it's been out in the US for quite some time now, hints about the content and plot directions were well and truly hitting my ears by the time I saw it, and I wish they hadn't. Still, no big deal.
So yeah, drop everything and go see Black Swan, preferably late at night and in a nearly empty cinema. That is, unless you don't do well with slightly disturbing imagery and a dollop of body horror, because this film delivers on both counts.