2010. Dir: Darren Aronofsky. Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder. ●●●●●
It's all too easy to forget that cinema is an art form, we tend to imagine the studios heads sitting in overlit offices with fawning assistants, counting the box office receipts of whatever Transformer shaped dreck they've unleased to the public as a coked-out pimp would guard his wares. Even those of us who profess a love of arthouse cinema, with our badly subtitled Albanian propaganda that quietly destroys beourgeois family values whilst simultaneously propping up our intellectually elitist worldview, have been fooled by false prophets of the human spirit. But this study of artistic desire, this interlude in the mind of performer, this screeching, screaming "were-swan" pushes past the boundaries of the screen, boldly pronouncing "I AM ART"! Black Swan is the first film I've seen for a long time that cannot be judged against normal rules; it's as much an installation as a movie.
That's it. Rave over. The hyperbole is done with. My point though is Black Swan enters your conciousness in a way few films do. I've not seen all of the films that made it to the Academy's top ten yesterday, but I doubt Swan will be my favourite, however it will be the one I remember for longer. Certain images, themes and moments within the movie will stay ingrained in my head, so visceral is the experience I felt I was up there with Natalie Portman's Nina executing every pirouette forcing my way through the dance.
You see it's impossible: to describe it is to relive the moment.
Portman's Nina gets a surprise bump up the pecking order of her ballet troupe, cast in the dual role of the Swan Queen and Black Swan in Tchaikovsky's most famous ballet Swan Lake. Vincent Cassel as her director/choreographer and would-be lover taunts her inability to unlock the passion of the Black Swan, to overthrough the virginal perfection of her dancing and awaken the inner desires. Enter Mila Kunis as her rival, a dancer able to fully show the passion of the Black Swan, unhindered by the desperation to please.
It is this desperation that fuels the story, the layer upon layer of agony and mental torment that Nina puts herself through. Slowly destroying her body through excessive practice and relentless acts of self-harm and bulimia. When the opening night comes we hear every cracking bone, every heaving breath as Nina forces her way through the performance, like her natural counterparts we are treated to the excessive underwater effort whilst the audience see only the gentle majesty of the whole. Nina wants to be admired, she seeks the gratification of the applause and internally vows to prove the doubters, the other dancers, the lothario Cassel, her own bitter and poisonous mother, icily performed by Barbara Hershey, even when cooing over her "sweet, sweet girl".
None of the cast miss their marks, and Portman especially gives a career best performance fully realisng the emotional journey of her doomed heroine.
There are elements that don't work, the script overeggs the pudding reminder us again and again of the themes, and Winona Ryder's passed over Prima Ballerina Beth seems to exist purely to underline old cliches repeated in far too many ballet movies, but these cannot take away from the superb mix of sound and image.
Matthew Libatique upclose hand held cinematography enters the world created by David Stein's art direction and Amy Westcott's costumes, at the same time the layering of sound, dialogue and Matt Dunkley and Clint Mansell's arrangements of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece ensure every moment fits together even when we're clearly left the natural world.
But all of this leads to Darren Aronofsky. It's an achievement that cannot be overstated, he has directed a piece of art, he sought perfection, and that alone makes it worth seeing.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Black Swan
Saturday, 22 January 2011
What happened to my sweet sweet girl? (Out this week - 21/01/11)
It's not an awfully surprising choice as the top film this week, Darren Aronofsky's latest ballet mindf**k is a cinematic must see. That said there are a lot of films out that may be worth seeing after the jump. There's also been a mini festival of Bollywood entries that I've missed off from the last couple of weeks so go through the jump to find out what you're missing. Although if you take my advice you'll just see the film of the week: Black Swan
Black Swan
I saw this last night and am now unable to gets it's imagery out of my fevered brain, plus I keep scratching at my back. When a simple movie is able to get into your subconcious in that way it is simply impossible to ignore.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●○○
The Dilemma
It made it into my top 20 for 2011 with it's concept alone, the reviws have been poor and Vince Vaughn with Kevin James isn't far off from a satanic punishment. That said Channing Tatum looks hot and this is the second best Winona Ryder film of the week.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●○○○
Get Low
Robert Duvall gets his first starring role in over 15 years as the mysterious hermit who returns to his local town in order to arrange his funeral (which he will attend whilst still alive). Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek are among the supporting players.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
Morning Glory
Critics are mixed on this TV newsroom-set romcom, those that compare it to Broadcast News or who value the santity of reporting are sniffy, those who take it at face value have been quite positive. I'll have to see for myself.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
John Carpenter's The Ward
80's synth fans rejoice, the mast of stalker horror has returned after a ten year sabattical with a maniacal killer loose in a psychiatric ward story. Probably derivative, but with Carpenter at the helm expect some nifty scares.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Dhobi Ghatt
Lyrical looking hyperlink drama from Bollywood with four interlocking Mumbai-set stories. Trailer plays down the traditional feel with a seductive, plaintive soundtrack.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Honeymooner
Low budget British indie from Sophomore director Col Spector, about a jilted bride groom spending the two weeks honeymoon moping around London getting over it. The sort of work that would fit in nicely at Sundance if it were set in New York.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
I Spit on your grave
Notorious video nasty and rape revenge fantasy of the early 1980's gets a twenty-first century makeover. Expect the gore to be upped and the subtext dumbed down.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Kaavalan
Tamil film, translates as The Bodyguard. The trailer is full of action scenes and comic sidekicks, but nothing that looks vaguely like a plot.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
My Soul to Take
I'm not sure whether Wes Craven's cinematic return has actually made it to cinemas. There are no reviews anywhere and it isn't showing on any listings. Given it's appalling US business that's probably a good thing.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
NEDS
Or Non-Educated Delinquents. Peter Mullan's Scottish gang coming of age drama has a lot of high profile fans, mainly because of the superb central performance of first time actor Conor McCarron. Will almost certainly be lost in the shuffle of this weeks releases.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
14 January 2011
And some Bollywood late entries that I missed out on:
Aadukalam
More Tamil action this time based against the backdrop of competitive cock-fighting. I'm not sure I can in any way support this one.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Isi Life Mein
Professional looking trailer with lots of dancing for Bollywood movie espousing living life to the full. It's a romcom about a couple from different walks of life, naturally.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Siruthai
I can't find a synopsis anywhere for this Indian release. The trailer indicates a police corruption plotline with some pretty nifty Saw like weaponry.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Black Swan
There's usually one day in January/February where it simply becomes impossible to watch all the interesting movies that are being released, usually because they all happen to be bona fide Oscar contenders. In 2011 this will be different, as the 21 January sees the release of five films which I am looking forward to, but only this ballet horror (well, virtual horror) has a ghost of a chance in the awards season. The other four films will be trailered in coming weeks, but for now sit back and watch the preview of the most I am most excited about seeing:
Black Swan will be released on 21 January 2011.
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Natalie Portman
Happy Birthday to
Natalie Portman
29 today
When I do these birthdays each day I usually amazed at how old pople are, but with Natalie I'm amazed at how young she is. She seems to have been around, as a major film star, forever. In fact her breakthrough, Leon, was in 1994 which was followed by some great supporting turns (Beautiful Girls, Mars Attacks) in 1996 then a three year gap before the Star Wars prequels exploded onto our screens. Since then she's kept active with a nice balance of high profile and more serious fare. I'm still hoping to see her in New York, I Love You - should it ever open - and in the next twelve months we should see her extremes in comic-book adap Thor and ballerina thriller Black Swan.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Barbara Hershey
Happy Birthday to
Barbara Hershey
62 today
Barbara Hershey is a seriously talented actress, with a fascinating back catalgue, however somehow she isn't half as popular as she should be. Coming to audience attentions in the late 60's and early 70's, as much for her offscreen lifestyle as her acting technique, she came into her own in the 80's with high profile ventures such as The Right Stuff, The Natural and Beaches. She was also the first person to win 2 consecutive best actress awards at Cannes for Shy People and A World Apart. Next up is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan which hopefully be a return to the public consciousness.
Friday, 15 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Black Swan
Leaping gracefully to number 4 is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.
Ballet has often been used as a metaphor for freedom and youth by filmmakers, or as a way of escape. In films as diverse as The Red Shoes and Billy Elliott once the music begins the protagonists can hide away from the reality of the world they live in. So Aronofsky's thriller about the rivalry between professional dancers may subvert that tradition - here the mere act of dancing will focus the tension, not disappate it.
I imagine we could expect nothing less from the director of Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain and The Wrestler. His characters are often carried on by forces unknown to them whether it's a drug addiction, the lure of the ring or a fatalistic love affair.
There is also a supernatural element - Natalie Portman's dancing adversary Mila Kunis may be real, or may just be a figment of her imagination. This may also link to the the freedom of creativity and the madness that competitiveness can bring.
Alternatively it could be a bog standard ghost thriller... What do you think? I'm pretty hyped up about it either way.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Film News (14/11/09)
When I last caught up with the news two weeks ago, I was utterly humbled by the sheer scale of the data available. In the end I had to make difficult decisons about what to run with - effectively excluding all casting news on the basis we already had the basics of the story. In a complete reversal over the last fortnight there have been just 3 stories that I have any interest in, and two of those are updates for previous headliners.
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud
It's unbelievable that I'm leading with a remake of a seventies B-movie thriller, after all the original had little to commend it and generally this sort of project would gravtate to the dregs of the studio system. Only something about the concept is interesting enough to reunite David Fincher with his Seven writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, for a new adaptation of the Max Ehlrich novel. In the novel Proud is trying to prove not only that he is reincarnated but also to solve the mystery of who killed his previous form so that justice can be done.
Black Swan
The cast of Darren Aronofsky's forthcoming ballerina in peril movie has just begun to get really exciting. Joining the previously announced Natalie Portman will be Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder and the adorable Vincent Cassel. Now if that doesn't give you thre really good reasons to see the film then I don't know what you want.
The Descendents
I think it's safe to say I'm a big fan of George Clooney, his last 2 films have both reached the dizzy height of the Runs Like a Gay film of the week - no mean feat I can assure you. So when I hear he had been cast as the lead in Alexander Payne's next film about a soon to be widower tracking down his wife's lover as she lies in a come then I knew I'd be even more on board.
Here's a pic of gorgeous George to celebrate:
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Film News (20/06/09)
Actually quite an interesting week for news, with a couple of really big projects getting a mention, and a couple of smaller ones thought to have disappeared being resurrected.
Indiana Jones 5
You have to wonder whether I've crapped on enough of my youth by going to see 3 Star Wars prequels and the 4th Indiana Jones movie, but apparently I'm still gagging for more. So hearing Shia LaBeouf chatting away at pre-Transformers interviews about the next Indy script in the works I have been a little excited. I'm not an apologist for the last film, it was a dreadful misstep. But then again so was The Temple of Doom, and it wasn't the CGI gophers and Shia loving monkeys that made me dislike it. It was more the bizarre UFO, 5th dimension, Lucas/Spielberg mindfuck that I objected to.
In the next film I'd like to see a return to Nazi and Judeo-Christian mythology. Maybe Joseph Mengele and a group of exiled Nazis mount an expedition to find the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge. It might be a rip off (say The Boys from Brazil meets The Fountain) but that won't stop it being entertaining.
Black Swan
Talking about The Fountain Darren Aronofsky is returning to one of his side-lined projects following the runaway success of The Wrestler. Black Swan tells of the rivalry between two prima ballerinas, one of whom is Natalie Portman, the other is either imaginery or from beyond the grave!!! It'll be good to see Portman strecting herself again, as well.
City of Angels
I've always thought the 1989 Tony award winning Musical has always seemed like it was destined for film. Well apparently Mssrs. Shaye and Lynne of Unique films have thought the same. In a press annoucement this week covering over 10 projects in the works there's a mention of turning the part Hollywood satire, part hard-boiled detective thriller into a movie.
Love and Other Drugs
I don't know how I missed this a couple of weeks ago but Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway are teaming up for this adaptation of Jamie Reidy comic tome about life inside the pharmaceutical sales environment. It will be nice to see them play a couple who actually in to each other, unlike their Brokeback Mountain collaboration. And the serio-comic style of the book might be right up their street.
Sam Mendes (Butcher's Crossing and Middlemarch
Focus Features have made a first look deal with Sam Mendes and his producing partners, according to Variety.com. Now, I'm not completely sure I fully understand this story. I expect a first look deal, means that Focu Features get to choose whether they distribute a film first - should have chosen not to distribute Away We Go, from what I hear. They've also bought out 2 productions that are currently being prepped, either one of whcih could be done by Mendes. These are George Eliot novel Middlemarch, which has been rumoured for some time (and is a great novel); and the adaptation of John Williams' revisionist western Butcher's Crossing, about a harvard graduate who goes buffalo hunting (I'm sure it's more complex than that). Curiously the article makes no mention of Preacher, which I though was Mendes' next challenge. Looks like that particular graphic novel may have even longer to wait.
Mixed Blood
Anyone want any Samuel L. Jackson action? After all he was only been in 7 films in 2008 and a mere 16 projects at some point of the development and production process. At least he's signed on to star in Mixed Blood based on the Roger Smith novel. From the precis it sounds like a version of The Fugitive where Richard Kimble beats up kidnappers rather than saving boys with heart defects with Jackson in the Tommy Lee Jones role.
Unbreakable 2
In related Samuel L. Jackson news, M. Night Shyamalan has been talking up the idea of returning to the Unbreakable story he kicked off in 2000. Personally I quite like this idea, Shyamalan movies has got steadily worse since then and the central conceit of a master criminal who needs a hero to feel a purpose and a hero who doesn't think of himself as a hero is quite fascinating in a low-key way. Of course whether Bruce and Samuel will sign back on may be a tricky one, but if M. Night pulls it off it may just be the trigger for getting the public back on his side.
