Sunday, 23 January 2011

Black Swan


Begins as textbook Polanski but is executed with such precision that by the end it actually manages to surpass such comparison.
Phenomenal.
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13 comments:

  1. James24/01/2011, 00:49

    Aronofsky channels Polanski to create a stunning melodrama that manages to simultanously tell the story of putting on Swan Lake and the story of Swan Lake. Portman is outstanding. The more I think about it the more marvellous it becomes.

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  2. Joe24/01/2011, 06:34

    Fantastic stuff. Filled me with more dread than any straight-up horror. Stop picking at it!

    Weird that it's been getting bad reviews, when pedestrian fare like the King's Speech is lauded to the heavens. Actually, just reading a review there. Turns out I missed an important bit concerning a nail file when I popped to the bogs. Ah well, I won't mind watching it again.

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  3. James25/01/2011, 16:41

    I'd guess it got some bag reviews because some people didn't like it ;) I'd also hazard a guess that most of those bad reviews would complain about a lack of subtlety (never Aronofsky's strong suit) and excessive melodrama. While I knew I'd watched an excellent film when I first came out I wasn't sure what scale I liked it; whether I liked, really liked, really fucking liked or loved it. And I'm still not sure if I prefer it to 2011's other psychological journey or not. The melodrama gave it a slight distance, although I imagine it will hold up to multiple viewings better.

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  4. Joe25/01/2011, 17:39

    I'm guessing you refer to 127 Days rather than King's Speech or Enema Bandit. Still have to see that one.

    Okay, I see your point about Black Swan. It is clearly the kind of film I like - disturbing, hysterical, exploitative and very well made.

    I've never seen Requiem for a Dream, so I fancy looking for that now. The Fountain less so.

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  5. James26/01/2011, 17:27

    Requiem is exceptional, although very hard going. Avoid the pause button for optimum effect. I really liked The Fountain which is kinda similar to Black Swan in that it's all a bit grandiose and melodramatic. It does look and sound magnificent, but it's very easy to not like; a proper marmite movie.

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  6. James28/01/2011, 17:40

    Slightly off topic from the original post...

    Last night I watched The King's Speech. In principal I don't like the fact it was funded by the lottery, but it is actually quite good; Firth in particular. It's biggest problem is that because it's about a king you can't really relate to anything which is a shame because the central story and relationship between Firth and Geoffrey Rush is done very well. Had they been able to remove all the historical reality and just told that story in another context it would have been an excellent remake of The Karate Kid (with talking instead of karate).

    I think it warrants good reviews as it is definitely a good film and not just a BBC drama released in cinemas, but the raves it's been getting are too much.

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  7. McK28/01/2011, 21:17

    Bollocks about the King's bollocks belong on a blog by somebody who gives a shit, not mine.

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  8. James29/01/2011, 19:19

    Q cue queue q

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  9. Joe31/01/2011, 08:21

    Al, I'd bet you watch the King's Speech if he was having soapy water administered through the back door, you dirty devil.

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  10. McK31/01/2011, 19:33

    Damn straight.

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  11. Gareth Shapiro01/02/2011, 10:33

    Saw it last Friday and loved it. Aronofsky has sharpened his sword and will surely produce finer and finer pieces of work as time goes on.

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  12. Ali09/02/2011, 14:16

    100 slaps on the chin of Joe for having never seen Requiem :-O

    I'm with James on the Fountain too, I loved it. Where else in cinema do you get repeated cuts to a man in a giant gumball machine floating about..

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  13. Ed22/09/2012, 21:03

    Just got this on Blu Ray + can't believe how grainy it looks. I guess it's an accurate transfer and looks that way because the film was shot on Super 16, but I don't remember noticing it so much when I watched the theatrical release...

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