The Birth of the Black Swan

***** (5 stars)

I’ve been starring at this page for twenty minutes. How do you review a movie that begs you to keep its secret? What can I say that won’t give anything away? That will preserve the purity and excitement of seeing it for the first time in a darkened theatre? I can tell you that my Best of 2010 list just got a lot more complicated.

Provocative director Darren Aronofsky’s 5^th feature is “Black Swan” , a psychological drama set in the world of classical ballet (don't let that dissuade you guys, there's plenty for you as well).  Nina (Natalie Portman) is a rising star in the City Ballet company dreaming of being cast in a lead role, determined towards perfection, but with the timidness usually found in children and not in the cut throat world of professional dance.  When a new dancer enters the company (Mila Kunis), Nina's already fragile mind is threatened. Is she going mad or is her paranoia real?

After learning of this movie last year, I read very little about it, avoided all trailers, and only visited the viral companion site once (It’s pretty cool and doesn’t give much away. Hint: Type in the names of characters to reveal more information). It was a total media blackout on my end and I couldn’t have been happier! This movie should just happen to you. I’ve tried my best to avoid spoilers or, for that matter, any real information on story below. However, I do discuss the film (isn’t that why I’m here?) so proceed at your own risk.

Comparisons to Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” have been well publicized but I think a bit misplaced. Besides ballet and the occasional horrific moment in “Black Swan”, the two films are night and day. Instead, I think this film owes more to “Carrie” and the early work of Roman Polanski, especially “Repulsion”. Is it scary? At times, but it’s more haunting. The little nuances of each character, of the art direction (check out the background of almost any scene for additional insight to the character), the use of sound and editing, all create an atmosphere that pulls the audience into the twisted vision of both the director and characters. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique has worked on all of Aronofsky’s films, as well as “Gothika”, “Iron Man 1 & 2”, “Inside Man”, and “The Number 23”. Here he references 70s exploitation flicks with his use of low level lighting and close ups. In fact, the majority of the film is shot in close up and mid shots; keeping the audience inside the mind of Nina. The bustle of the camera advances our anxiety and nervousness. We are given an experience, a film that will crawl inside our minds and infect our brains. It is impossible to shake off.

[side note: I did enjoy the use of the “Suspiria” theme song in the trailers for “Black Swan”, but I think it was more a wink than a nod]

The film is belongs to Natalie Portman and it is hers to lose. Everyone else is a supporting player to her tour de force performance.  Portman can cry. She’s pretty good at it too. What’s really impressive is her transformation in this film. She looks like a ballerina (she studied dance until age 12), her body long and sinewy. Every thought and feeling reads on her face, at times making the audience uncomfortable. I love her. She seems like someone I would want to be friends with. We could chat about books or politics over yummy vegan fare and gossip about boys. There have been some baubles along the way (“Anywhere but Here”, “Star Wars”- don’t send your letters, those movies never needed to be made) but the highlights far outweigh. Must viewing:  “Leon/The Professional” (get the European version, “Leon”, if you can), “Beautiful Girls”, “Closer” (a double feature of this with “Black Swan” is sure to lead to heavy drinking), “V for Vendetta”, “Brothers”. I have high hopes for “Your Highness” and “Hesher” (both out next year I believe), but am worried about “Thor”. Dear god, please don’t let that movie hurt her.

The biggest surprise though may be Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey. Kunis has always been a comedic actress and one I don’t pay a lot of attention to. She’s talented; I loved her in “That ‘70s Show” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, but was unprepared for what she was capable of. By contrast, Hershey is a seasoned actress with multiple awards and nominations under her belt. Here, she is truthfully frightening. Vincent Casell is the perfect smarmy, talented ballet director and I expect him to be brilliant.

“Black Swan” is another example of when working with the same people pays off instead of hindering the project. From the DP, to the editor (Andrew Weisblum), to the composer (Clint Mansell- someone give this guy an Oscar nomination already), have all worked with Aronofsky before. New to the crew, Art Director David Stein should be praised as well.

A must see in the theatre. Perhaps I’ll see you there when I go again on Friday!

The Killer Inside Me

**** (4 stars)

In the tradition of "Frailty" and "The Minus Man" comes Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of the 1952 Jim Thompson classic, "The Killer Inside Me". I've already added the book to my Goodreads account. Starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Elias Koteas (LOVE!), Ned Beatty, and Simon Baker.

Lou Ford (Affleck) is the deputy sheriff in small town Texas who mostly keeps to himself and seems nice enough, if a bit dim witted. He's got the perfect girl (Hudson) and the perfect life. All this changes when he meets a prostitute (Alba) who awakens his sexual and maniacal desires. This new sheriff is a man afflicted with "the sickness" he thought he had defeated in his childhood. Now the main suspect in a double murder, can we outwit the local prosecutor (Baker) and live the new life he's created or is his secret destined to destroy him?

The book was previously made into a movie in 1976 and starred Stacy Keach. I haven't seen that version but I find it hard to imagine Keach in the role. Affleck on the other hand proves his worth and establishes himself as one of the best actor's of our generation, completely separate from any association with his brother (not that that's a bad thing anymore, Ben Affleck is proving himself a very capable director). Lest we forget, he is an Academy Award nominated actor as well ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"), and has turned in good work in "Gone Baby Gone" and "Lonesome Jim" (which I hated, but it wasn't his fault). I am highly anticipating his starring turn in Ridley Scott's upcoming "The Kind One". His face, voice, and body melt into this character. It takes an innate sensibility to find the humanity and sympathy behind a man with loose morals and ethics. At the same time, it's a story of both love and survival. That so many themes and layers can be found is testement to Thompson's book and John Curran (previously a director of films such as "The Painted Veil" and "We Don't Live Here Anymore") screenplay. It is a cautionary tale of the sacrifices one makes when they've done wrong and a walk up call to the warning signs sociopath's always seem to give off in these films. How long can you cover your tracks? When does luck run out? As Sheriff Maples (Tom Bower) says, "It's lightest just before the darkness". So this motto becomes a prophecy and highlights the subtle shift in the movie as it leans away from romance and further into madness. This realization hits Lou late in the film, but he has the calm sense of self and mind to know "you can't kill a dead man".

Alba seems out of place. There's a woodiness (is that a word?) to her acting that is magnified in her scenes with Affleck. She's a TV actress, not the film star her agents are trying to make her out to be. In her characters pivotal scene, I was jolted out of the story to wonder who advised her to play it so cool during a savage beating? What happened to survival instinct? Is she that much in love? The whole scene in question is horribly false and lacks the melodrama it should illicit. In comparison with Hudson's character, hers is the least fleshed out. Maybe it's because we only see her as a sexual object that we find it so difficult to believe she would stand there and take it. Really? The girl who slapped and punched Lou when they first met. What happened to that girl?

Speaking of Hudson, I wish she would step outside her comfort zone more often. This role is rich in the female submissiveness that we think of in the 50s. She loves her man and allows him to do things to her that she normally wouldn't do. In complete contrast to Alba, we understand her motivations. This is the man she has been in love with for years, who plans to marry her, who will make her honest.

It is still Affleck's movie though. He is scary in the ways adults find frightful. Not as a monster who lurks under the bed, but as the seemingly charming one that lives next door. A Bundy figure long before Bundy was a killer too. We watch him justify his actions and feelings, and go along for the ride. Winterbottom's use of voice over narrative would normally drive me crazy (I think it's lazy), however it works here. We can hear his thoughts, his processes, his observations of his own actions.

Winterbottom has made it his career to observe and report human behavior. He reserves judgement for the audience and it is this removed perspective that allows him to produce high caliber films. Further viewing is required of: Wonderland, 24 Hour Party People, 9 Songs (very adult/mature), A Mighty Heart, and his award winning documentary Road to Guantanamo.

Marcel Zyskind's cinematography is a bit distracting at times. What could be powerful long takes of Lou walking towards the prostitutes home, leaving the office; instead are left long enough only to show us the kind of mood and atmosphere we could have had. Much of this can really be attributed to Mags Arnold's editing. In the hands of a more experienced editor, the small holes and jumps that momentarily leave the viewer scratching their head could have been avoided.

I don't know why I didn't see this when it was released. I remember reading about it a lot and getting excited, but maybe it didn't play in Dallas. Kind of odd, we seem to get most movies now. I would have loved to experience this in the theatre, seen who walks out and when. I do recommend it for anyone who likes mysteries, and critical character studies. If you didn't like the two films I mentioned at the head of this post, skip entirely.