Black Swan

You can stone me, but Aronofsky is repeating himself for the third time and it's getting old. Although he once again emphasizes the physicality and the decay of the soul and body, the film lacks any sort of more prominent moment that I haven't seen from him before. The lacerated fingers do hurt, but what I saw here was more so pseudo-art, where he gracefully tiptoes around but doesn't get to the core even once. The metamorphoses at the end amused me unintentionally rather than making me feel any kind of gradation or even catharsis. However, I can understand the standing ovation the film receives. (2010-12-26)

An unsettling journey through the ballet stage with an atmosphere that takes your breath away in every shot. Aronofsky came up with his version of mental darkness and I can't stop staring. Mainly thanks to the mesmerizing camera and brilliant Natalie, it is one of those experiences that must be removed from your head almost forcibly due to their suggestiveness. It is difficult to say in one sentence why Black Swan is so amazing. I just know and feel that it truly is. (2010-12-21)

Although Black Swan appears to be made from the same dough as The Wrestler, it is only half true. Yes, it fits quite well superficially - the concept is actually similar, intimate body camera, ruthless details, long tracking shots, scenes of mutilation in the name of foolish desire (again, it is a desire expressed by roaring crowds). But it cannot be overlooked that in one important respect, Black Swan is antithetical to The Wrestler. While The Wrestler was a film where the inside of the hero remained hidden and it was a documentary record of gradual doom, in Black Swan everything is outward, the pain is written into horror expressive scenes, the heroine's psychoses are "Freudian" amplified and accentuated by various dreamlike chimeras. Everything inside happens on the outside at the same time, and the viewer is trapped in the snares of an unreliable storyteller. Where reality ends and Nina's fantastical projection begins is sometimes difficult to decipher. Some of the scenes are suspiciously conventional (you can see it well in all the horror jump scares and phantoms) and I couldn't shake the impression that for the mutating surface, Aronofsky missed what was not visible in The Wrestler, yet was physically felt - an intimate plane of pain "out of desire" leading to the final grand gesture of self-destruction. Black Swan is essentially ancient during the ending, but it didn't affect me nearly as much as Randy's last “ram-jam". Everything is in place here (a famous camera, a devastating Natalie and a magnificent musical accompaniment), yet ecstasy did not come. I think Aronofsky was able to go deeper in the past without theatrical props. (2011-01-17)

An unexciting attempt at psychologically sophisticated art. Slightly irritating in places, unconventional thanks the interesting ballet setting, but an attempt nevertheless. Someone should tell Aronofsky that he is not the Kubrick of the 21st century. I admire the difficulty of ballet as an art, as well as Tchaikovsky's magical music, but this film is so empty and uses so many horror tropes that it's maddening. Hype of the year. PS: If it wasn't for Natalie Portman, who put so much effort into her role, I'd go even lower with the rating. (2010-12-25)

Aronofsky's declaration of love for The Red Shoes. A psycho (not psychological!) update of Swan Lake for the 21st century in art-mainstream trappings with the now traditionally weeping Natalie who also happens to play her own self wonderfully. I expected more of a balletic backstage full of sharp elbows, intrigue, and obsession, and fewer would-be horror elements that Aronofsky didn't quite master yet (um, mirrors… like seriously Darren?). Still, it works, and it escalates magnificently. (2011-02-18)