“It’s okay, Jack. You made a bad decision and bought something you didn’t understand. Like when I bought tickets to Black Swan. Remember when a movie was just a fella in a hat running away from a fella with no hair?” – Hank Hooper, last night’s 30 Rock.
I finally saw Black Swan! I know, I know, what took me so long? Hey, movies are expensive, and it takes a long time for something to go second-run. I know this won’t really be a timely post, but I feel like I can’t not comment on this film, since it’s been such a huge topic in pop culture for the past few months. There were a lot of things I liked about this film, as well as a lot of other things I didn’t like so much. Let me just say I get why people are so obsessed with this film. I just don’t think it was necessarily for me. I’m glad I saw it, though.
For those who don’t know, the film (directed by Darren Aronofsky) is about Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballet dancer who is cast in the lead role in her company’s production of Swan Lake. She is perfect for the role of the White Swan, but she has difficulty portraying the Black Swan. Her director (Vincent Cassel) uses unorthodox methods to bring Nina out of her shell. When Lily (Mila Kunis), a new dancer whose free spirit is more suited to the Black Swan role, threatens Nina’s struggle for perfection, Nina begins to lose her mind. The audience is dragged along in her spiral into insanity, and it becomes less and less clear (to us and to Nina) what’s real and what’s imagined.
One of the things that really interested me about the film is its refusal to be placed in any one category or genre. Is it just a drama about a ballet dancer and her struggles to succeed? Is it a psychological thriller, a la Memento? Is it a horror film? Is it a fantasy? I don’t think any of these genres fit Black Swan. It’s some amalgamation of all these things. When I first saw the trailer months ago, I didn’t know what to think. Part of me wanted to assume it was just another formulaic horror film. Then another part of me looked at the cast and director and knew that wouldn’t turn out to be true. It’s not formulaic. Sure, there are aspects of the film that are derivative of other narratives and styles, but the way the film borrows from these traditions and turns it into something new and indefinable is what makes it so original.
I also really admired the visual style of the film. The cinematography of the dance sequences rivals the editing and camerawork of stylish boxing movies. The camera is continuously mobile, moving cloer to Nina and circling around her in sweeping motions. It’s like the camera is dancing with her, while also emphasizing, through constant, uneasy movement, her paranoid mental state. There are numerous unconventional shots of the back of Nina’s head as she walks, perhaps further signifying her paranoia, as if she is running from us. These shots reminded me of the countless tracking shots following the characters in Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, another haunting film. These shots detach us from Nina’s character and enhance the sense of voyeurism. The camerawork is consistently shakey. It’s as violent as Nina’s descent into insanity. The tight close-ups of Portman’s face stress the intensity of her emotions. Everything’s very unnerving.
Natalie Portman took home the Best Actress Oscar last month for this performance. Was it deserved? Well, I haven’t seen all the nominated performances, but I thought Portman’s performance was spot-on. She makes Nina constantly on-edge, which undoubtedly took consistent effort and emotional stamina. The character’s meekest, most vulnerable points are as well-executed as her most crazed scenes. Mila Kunis’s performance was pleasantly surprising. She made Lily alternately funny, threatening, and sweet, so that my ambiguous reaction to her reflected Nina’s conflicted feelings. While I love Kunis in comedies and in voiceover work, I hope this is a preview of future dramatic roles.
And I was sufficiently freaked out by the plot. A lot of crazy stuff happens in this film. It’s dark and disturbing, and there are several violent or grotesque images. There was plenty of suspense and horror-movie jolts. I certainly found them effective. Just the sound of Nina cracking her ballerina’s toes upon waking up at the beginning of the film was enough to freak me out. This film really exposes the pain and toil associated with ballet dancing.
Now on to some things I didn’t like so much, or just wasn’t sure what to make of. First, I was frustrated that there was no concrete explanation for Nina’s mental disintegration. I certainly don’t expect that everything be spelled out for me without any room for interpretation, but I felt that her character would have been stronger if we had clearer knowledge of her motivation. She was supposedly a perfectionist who strove for precision, but she seemed too tentative to be so type A. She was uptight, sure, but she seemed more nervous than controlled. I think part of this ambiguity was due to the fact that the film did not focus much on Nina’s dance talent. Most of Portman’s dance sequences are shot as close-ups or medium shots. These shot scales emphasize her emotions, but we don’t see the precision she has supposedly mastered. A clearer picture of her family life would be helpful as well. We know that her relationship with her mother is complicated, but we do not know many details. Where is her father? Why is her mother so controlling? What is the extent of her mother’s treatment of her? Is there physical abuse? Is her mother living vicariously through her? The answers to these questions were alluded to, but I felt that they weren’t close enough to being definite revelations. Nina’s background and psychology were too amorphous. At the start of the film, she has already begun to unravel. Was she always like this? I’m not expecting answers to all of the film’s intentions, but I felt that many of the film’s themes and facets of Nina’s character would have been easier for me to latch onto and consider if Nina’s personality were clearer.
I’m also simply having a hard time figuring out what this film is trying to say. Is it a message about the debilitating effects of ballet on women, as displayed through an extreme example? Maybe. But something about that seems too preachy. Is the film criticizing Nina for her “frigid” demeanor, or sympathizing with her struggle to let go? Is this a sexist film for its portrayal of women as one of two extremes: meek and fragile, or sexual and uninhibited? For its sexual content (including a much talked-about and arguably gratuitous lesbian sex scene)? Or is it a criticism of these depictions of women? Is it commenting on the pressure women feel to please both themselves and men? The fact that the film was directed by a man complicates these questions for me. While I certainly don’t believe that male filmmakers are incapable of sympathizing with women’s struggles, it’s an issue that sometimes frustrates me, especially when the subject matter is so sexualized. I really don’t know what to think about the film, but the fact that it’s being contemplated at all is probably a sign of a film original enough that it even begs these questions.
In short, I liked the film’s style and its refusal to fit into a formulaic genre. I also admired Natalie Portman’s strong, emotional performance. But I struggle with what to take away from this film. I wish I could have known more about Portman’s character, in order to sympathize with her and better understand the film’s intentions. Nevertheless, I’m glad I saw it. It was an interesting two hours.
Pop and Ceremony 