Buy Black Swan Movie. Watch online or Download
Genres: ThrillerDr
Starring: Winona Ryder, Mark Margolis, Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel, Natalie Portman, Kristina Anapau, Tina Sloan
Director(s): Darren Aronofsky
Available Quality: Hi Def
Country: USA
Year: 2010
Available Quality: DivX, Hi Def, iPod, Hi Def, Hi Def
IMDB Rating: 8.2 out of 10 (208643 votes)
Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.
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Black Swan (DivX) | Resolution: 720x304 px | Total Size: 1751 Mb |
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Visitors Review
(13 May 2012)
Brilliant mind-trip of a movie!
This review is from: Black Swan [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) First of all, Natalie Portman deserves every acting award possible for her work in this film. You could tell in the first five minutes that she completely immersed herself in this role, and this world. Literally, one of the best performances by an actress I have ever seen. Right up there with Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, and Charlize Theron in Monster. A great actress will make you forget you are watching a movie, and she surely does that, and more.I heard on the radio the other day that her ballet-double in the movie is saying that she did most of the work, and that Natalie didn't deserve her Oscar. I have so many problems with that. It really makes me furious. What kind of person would try to ruin someone else's biggest accomplishment? Obviously, jealousy is at work here. Apparently, and I had no idea about this, an actress must appear in at least 80% of her role in order to win. I'm usually very good at spotting body-doubles in TV and movies, and I could not see even one instance that didn't look like her. I know they must have had a double that looks like Natalie, but I would be surprised if Natalie didn't perform at least 80% of the role. And, even if someone else did every bit of dancing, the brilliance is in the acting and the emotions, not the dancing (although that is a factor).Anyway, this is the kind of movie that stays with you, long after the ending credits. I would compare it to another movie with a similar premise, "The Machinist", starring Christian Bale (another brilliant performance, and you need to see it, if you haven't already). You will be trying to figure out what really happened for days. And you definitely will want to watch it again. I wanted to watch it again as soon as it was over! It's that good.
markgorman (13 May 2012)
Wonderful. An Oscar certainty.
Black Swan is the most visceral cinematic experience I've had sincemaybe Raging Bull. So, it's about ballet? So what. Ballet is merely thestructure on which this tragedy about mental breakdown, maybeschizophrenia is played out.Using the metaphor of black and white (the swans) to portray, good andevil, right and wrong, strength and weakness director Darren Aranowskipaints a picture of what's going on in the head of Natalie Portman asshe gradually falls apart under the pressure of preparing to dance SwanLake; with a backdrop of a doubtful choreographer, an ambitiousunderstudy, a jealous mother and a fallen Prima ballerina; all exertingpressure of one sort or another on the poor little virgin that isPortman.Portman delivers a tour de force (Oscar certainty) performance as shewrestles with the devils in her mind and tries to prove all thedoubters wrong. It's a remarkable performance in so many ways, sovulnerable (which could just have been fey) and yet so strong. Surelythe Academy can look no further.But the real star of the show - notwithstanding powerhouse performancesfrom Barbara Hershey (wonderful as the mother), Winona Ryder in aMommie Dearest descent into her own madness, Vincent Cassel (as theunforgiving choreographer and philanderer) and Mila Kunis as the threatfrom the Corps de Ballet - is director Darren Aronofsky. My God,another huge contender for Academy recognition. His direction of MickeyRourke in The Wrestler was eye opening, but this moves him onto yetanother level. He is garnering a reputation for bringing mentalinstability to the screen in a way that is eye opening and shocking.And that's another thing about this move, it's a quite thrilling shockfest. There's a bunch of "gotcha" moments that have you ducking forcover (quite a few shrieks were let out in our relatively smallaudience) as he makes the most of the ability to confuse and wrong foothis audience.And then there's the sex. I'll not go into detail here, but it is acentral motif of the film (starting from the premise that Portman is a24 year old virgin) and is certainly worthy of debate, but I don't wantto spoil it for you here.All I'll say is that sitting next to my 16 year old daughter as itplayed out made for a degree of discomfort! All in all this is a trulyoutstanding piece of film-making. In Darren Oronofsky we have one ofAmerica's next great directors really cementing his claims forgreatness and Natalie Portman never has, and never will, have a partthis great again.Go see.Do NOT wait for the DVD, it will not be the same.
Siddharth Krishna Dwivedi (12 May 2012)
Indeed a masterpiece.
There are two sides of every coin, one more fateful than the other.This is the story like that deep dark side of the coin. What happenswhen you get so much involved that you become no one but is believed asto be the other one.The journey of Black Swan is very very emotional as it contains theprotagonist's extreme introvert nature and yet her deep dark side ofnature. The course takes you to multiple heights, of life as well ashumanity; and believe me you would not know that when you became somuch involvedBallet was never so intriguing....
chrissatchell (11 May 2012)
Intense...uncomfortable at times, but foremost beautiful
After seeing the trailer for Aronofsky's latest release I expectednothing less than the usual fantastic uneasy viewing and a feeling ofalmost sickness, yet awe, at what I'd just seen, I've come to expectfrom his directorials. Disappointed, I wasn't.The film encapsulates you instantly in the beautiful, albeitcompetitive, realm of ballet and the impressive aural accompanimentprovided by the every present Clint Mansell keeps thing expectantlyintense throughout.Darren's usual chromatography style isn't lost in Black Swan althoughit isn't as prominent as in some previous releases such as Requiem ForA Dream and The Fountain. Instead Aronofsky chooses to focus onattacking the sense with beautiful musical compositions and intenseimagery.The casting is superb all round but Portman is the stand out act inthis screenplay, with a deftness to go from fragile to intense at awhim and the ability to make the audience care for her from thebeginning, bring together an incredibly intense and consistentperformance.My only criticism of the film would be the over-use of far too obviousand blatant metaphors. It will become apparent upon viewing, but Ibelieve Aronofsky may have chosen to take this route due to the underperformance of some previous films i.e. The Fountain which are complexin nature, but understandable after repeat viewings, therefore makingthe film more accessible to the general public.As a long time Aronofsky fan, it was always going to be difficult forthis film to be a disappointment, yet at the same time I had very highexpectations. But as with all of his films, the subject of the film canbe irrelevant to most, you don't have to like ballet to enjoy thisfilm, you just have to like beautiful, intense and incredible cinema.
patrickmbrame (09 May 2012)
Creepy, Emotinoal, So Sexy, and Intense
Creepy, Emotional, so Sexy, and Incredibly Intense. As I'm writing thisI just got out of the movie 10 minutes ago and am just utterly blownaway from this film. Aronofsky is on top of his game like never before,I think this may even be better than Requiem. Natalie Portman is justawesome as Nina the star ballerina ...of Swan Lake. From the beginningyour right there with her feeling how much she wants the role and howmuch pressure she feels when she gets it, all through Aronofsky'sdirection. He utilizes the extreme close up on the cast's face so muchyou can't help but feel the emotions they are going through but this isespecially felt with Portman. She plays the naive, almost childish girlso well as you watch her transform into the Black Swan its an emotionalroller coaster that you can't turn away from. The supporting cast isgreat. Vincent Cassel is great as the creepy head of production, acharacter that everyone has seen before, yet he plays it so well itsalmost like watching the character for the first time. Then you haveBarbara Hershey who plays a Hitchcockian mother to the T who isobsessed with her daughter (Portman) to get the role and succeeding.Mila Kunis would be considered the weakest role of the three supportersbut that's not saying she's bad by any means, its just everyone else isthat good. In my eyes she can't do anything bad, I may just be in lovewith her... and could use a little more of the scene between her andPortman and if you see the movie you'll know what I'm talking about.Then running up the cast is Winona Ryder, who is really only on screenfor a total of 15 minutes maybe but I will say she plays the crazy,sore loser very well and provides the film with possibly one of themost terrifying scenes in the movie. The story is so compelling and sofreaking creepy at the same time. Aronofsky plays with the story of agirl training and performing the Swan Lake Ballet while at the sametime telling a contemporary version of Swan Lake in the setting of NYCwith a twist of the supernatural. It's an unbelievably well made filmand worth seeing, seeing even multiple times. If your in the mood forsomething a little off the beaten path, unconventional and apsychological thriller/horror than do yourself a favor and don't waitfor DVD/Blu-Ray to see this one. It will blow your damn mind.
alain-aouad (09 May 2012)
Really Intense depressive and truly astonishing movie!
From the first few seconds of the movie you can tell that the story istwisted and deep in many ways... From the mother to the teacher to theformer lead dancer, they all fall into the same dark loop that seems toembrace the lead character of this film and slowly drift her tomadness... My eyes were stuck to the screen during the whole movie andthe ending is so high that it kept me craving for more... NataliePortman is surely Oscar worthy and should most definitely win! Theentire cast gives a really impressive performance, but she is justamazing! This is one of those rare movies you should keep in your DVDlibrary and watch many times again and again and again!
Qaiser Qayyum (09 May 2012)
A masterpiece and an Oscar-Nominee Role
I was much anticipating this one from Darren Aronofsky, and when thiscame and hit the big screen, wow, the movie is a master-piece. Themovie revolves around Nina (Natalie Portman, who has performed aperfect role, as she says in the end, "I did Perfect!"), Nina is aballerina in NY ballet company and she is trying her level best toachieve the perfection in becoming Black Swan. She possess thecapability to perform White Swan in the new ballet directed by ThomasLeroy (Vincent Cassel), but her dark-twin the Black Swan is not comingout. This movie is a special treat for Perfectionists, who live theirlives in achieving perfection in whatever field they are, yes, and theyare serious about their work, in fact mad about it. The supporting castVincent Cassel, Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey (Nina's Mother) hasperformed well to groom the main character, but i still think Casseldid not give his level-best in this one (like he performed in EasternPromises, Brotherhood of the Wolf, etc). But you must watch this one tosee Oscar-Nominee performance by Natalie Portman. Chao!
Billie-Leah (08 May 2012)
Pointless and bland
Well, before I actually saw the movie I had been reading lots ofpositive references to it so I had considered it a movie worth ofwatching. After I have seen it I was not merely disappointed but alsorather depressed. The whole movie was something like a silent picture:You can watch it, though you can't quite understand what the creatorswant you to think of it.In the matter of fact, it is exactly the kind of movie that seems to bea perfect artistic movie - it contains epic themes like ballet andschizophrenia, depressive and negative view on life and world and acharming bad-ass with deviations. Sadly I found it so artistic that itwas more likely boring and bland and the main so-called bad-ass wasawfully irritating me the whole movie because of the actor and hisinsufficient ability to represent the character on higher level than ahigh school play.However, what disappointed me the most was probably the end of themovie. I won't write any spoilers here but just for you to know - agood movie shouldn't end up like this, that end indicates that thedirector didn't know what to do with the main character and thereforehe chose the easiest way to end it. And it also made the whole moviepointless and useless to watch.It's just my opinion but I consider a great movie a movie, which I'mcapable of watching more than once and I still enjoy it. And Icertainly wouldn't watch THAT movie more than once.
(01 May 2012)
Black Swan is complicated, deeply psychological and it's more than Ballet
Black Swan has been receiving a lot of acclaim since its theatrical release but it is also subject to a lot of criticism. Those who have enjoyed the movie consider it nothing short of brilliant while some other viewers were simply disgusted by it. It just shows how divided people can be over a movie. I can clearly see why some viewers disliked it: not enough dancing, the sexual scenes, some disliked Natalie Portman's acting, the movie was too weird and so on. I am one of those who really enjoyed Black Swan, at first I wasn't sure what to expect but it turned out to be an excellent film and one that I consider to be in the top movies of 2010. It was very different from other movies I've seen this past year. I loved the tone and direction taken by Darren Aronofski, Black Swan is easily distinguishable from the other movies of 2010.Nina Sayers is a Ballet dancer living with her mother in New York who lands the main role in an upcoming production of "Black Swan". At first Nina seems too sweet an innocent to play the Black Swan although she does seem to have the perfect characteristics for the White Swan. The director of the production doesn't see her as able to portray the role of the Black Swan even if sees her as the White Swan. Her forces and provokes her to see that passion and desire to be the Black Swan. Nina struggles with the pressure of the role and this is where the psychological part of the movie beings. The role makes her do things and act certain ways that she normally would not, it's almost as if she becomes the role. Black Swan is a psychological thriller, right there this is an indication that it is not for everyone. Those expecting a nice and innocent movie about Ballet will be deceived as there are some twists and it goes further and more deeply than Ballet itself. I thought it was brilliant how they showed Nina's inner psychological struggles with herself and the pressure that comes from playing the main role in the production of Black Swan. The hallucinations from which she suffers, her paranoid behavior and inner struggles were very well displayed. Much of the criticism addressed at the film is due to the self-mutilation and touching and the girl on girl action scenes and I can understand how some found this disgusting and of a lack of taste.I don't think this ruined the movie but such displays on screen are very unappealing to plenty of viewers. It's interesting to watch the transition from the angelic and innocent Nina to what she eventually becomes, yet we also have the feeling that she's the same person all along but the role changed her somehow. Her relationship with her mother is an excellent example of this and the emotions displayed in the movie are very easy to relate to (I know for me it was). Also interesting to consider that the movie had a relatively low budget of 13 millions, it goes to show that movies with low budget can be successful and be acclaimed just as much if not more than big budget productions.Natalie Portman delivered a solid performance as Nina, I believe she was a perfect choice to play the lead role. Yes, Portman did not do all of the dancing and a double was used. But what did you expect? It takes years to be a ballerina so it was obvious that she was not going to do all of the dancing. She won an Academy award and a few other awards for best actress for her performance. Mila Kunis also gave a solid performance as Lily. French actor Vincent Cassel did a job as Thomas Leroy, the director of the production, effective to say the least. I'm not a fan of Ballet but I do consider an art and a beautiful one at that, that's exactly what the dancing was: beautiful. Black Swan is brilliant, intriguing and very well made but it obviously won't be everybody's cup of tea but we're all allowed to have our own opinions aren't we? I love Black Swan because it delivers what it promised a psychological, interesting and a times complex movie, it's an experience. As much as I liked it I have to say it's a love or hate it movie, barely any middle ground. Viewers will either love and be captivated by Black Swan or absolutely hate it, as simple as that. I was pleasantly surprised and have to say I was certainly not deceived and it surpassed all the expectations I had. 5/5 from me, but that's just my 2 cents on the movie!
knight110tim (30 April 2012)
An Adult Fairy Tale...
A dark, modern fairy tale, Black Swan, itself, is a stunning piece ofart.A powerful and intense study of obsession and madness that focuses onNatalie Portman's Nina Sayers, a driven and uptight New York ballerinawho wins the lead role - of the Swan Queen - in a production of SwanLake.For those of us who didn't actually know - and it's explained a coupleof times - Swan Lake is the story of a young girl magically transformedinto a White Swan who can only be saved by love. Unfortunately theprince she falls for is seduced by her evil twin, the Black Swan, andshe ends up killing herself.Darren Aronofsky's magnificent movie has Nina Sayers so determined togive the "perfect" performance that she finds herself "becoming" thecharacter in shocking and disturbing ways.Nina clearly has issues anyway, with a history of self-harm and anoverbearing single mother (Barbara Hershey) who abandoned her ownballet career to give birth - and therefore carries the joint burden ofresentment and a desire to live out her unfulfilled dreams through herdaughter.While the show's director freely admits Nina is ideal as the "whiteswan", he has reservations about her ability to also portray the evil"black swan" and encourages her to loosen up through a variety ofunorthodox techniques.There's enough "body horror" to satisfy David Cronenberg fans, whilethe "in-your-face" camera work and grainy film stock gives Black Swanthe cinéma vérité feel of a "behind-the-scenes" documentary on the hardlife of professional ballet dancers.Sexually graphic in places as well, although you never actually seeanything very little is left to the imagination, the film makes itsaudience uncomfortable and complicit in the unfolding psychodrama untilyou don't know what's real and what's imagined as pictures becomeanimated, faces morph into self-reflections and Nina's body starts toundergo bizarre transformations of its own.Aronofsky has brought out career-defining performances from his cast.Portman - who is on screen for almost every scene - is sublime, but sheis also supported by a flawless cast. Mila Kunis, as Nina's only friendbut also imagined rival, is a revelation while Vincent Cassel as theshow director is enigmatically unreadable. Winona Ryder, as theoutgoing lead dancer, although only in the film for a short while, isequally superb and memorable.A truly unique film, Black Swan rightfully earned Portman her Oscar andwill stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
banc-andrei (30 April 2012)
Great story about a story
This movie has 2 outstanding, almost perfect elements: the poster (ithas a bit of "hauntingly beautiful" to it) and the idea. And while thestorytelling is not perfect it does deliver and near the ending all ithas been built up bursts in a crescendo of action and emotion. Whilemost of the movie Natalie Portman acts like she is made of wood, youknow like in Star Wars, this time it actually fits as she is supposedto be somewhat stiff and just mimicking emotions. However hertransformation into the black swan at the end really surprised me andleads me to think she can actually act. And pretty well too. Now jumping on to the supernatural elements some of them seem very wellin place like an unexplained rash and bleeding of fingers, throughimpressions of seeing a familiar face on the street, to hallucinationswhile on drugs and an actual transformation into a black swan on stagesome others like hallucinations in the hospital and before the showcould have been handled subtler or more masterfully. For example in thecabin as I didn't understand what exactly was happening anymore itruined immersion and made me not care anymore. Fortunately thebeautiful performance follows that rescues and finally manages tocreate a nearly perfect ending. However, there is one fault I find in it... the fact that watching thetrailer or reading a two-line review basically renders the first hourof the movie useless, it adds surprisingly little. Fortunately itdidn't get actually boring.
dave54t (29 April 2012)
terrible story teller
Black Swan is the story of a young ballet dancer promoted to the roleof the ballerina and the way she and her companions deal with her movefrom being a member of the group to the prime role. To perform herrole, she needs to have the kind of passion that apparently, shedoesn't have, or at least not enough. The story is hence a story oftransformation: how a fragile, restrained naive girl turns into apassionate beast. The team that carries the movie on its shoulders isremarkable. From Natalie Portman to the sexy and provocative MilaKunis, and the surprising up- to-now action actor, Vincent Cassel, whois doing great job. what prevents this film from becoming a good filmis the story. the short version: the story sucks. the long version:first, it is boring. really. simply boring. second, and not unrelated,it takes talent to convince your audience that what they see isactually something completely different. The sixth sense is like that.While the story line here is completely different, still, things happenhere and then - surprise- it is not like that! the scriptwriter did noteven try to pretend. you see something and then ha-ha- no, it issomething different! why? how? who? never mind! really shame.
John DeSando (26 April 2012)
One of the best of 2010
Erica (Barbara Hershey): What happened to my sweet girl? Nina (NataliePortman): She's gone!In auteur Darron Aronofsky's Black Swan, the Swan Queen (Portman) is"gone" even before she's pegged for the lead in Swan Lake. In the bestMethod Acting spirit, she becomes like the Black Swan because the WhiteSwan is too easy.This is the most melodramatic film of 2010. This is the best actress(Portman) of 2010. This is the best director of 2010. But this may notbe the best film of 2010 because of the ease with which it depresseswith the over-the-top dramatic conflict between the two poles ofinnocence and experience, good and evil. It doesn't have the wit andrelative subtlety of All about Eve, a film also about female ambition,nor does it have the relative grace of The Red Shoes (1948), a balletfilm to which this must be compared.Aronofsky's camera twirls like a ballerina and tracks the star withback shots that become too obvious not to notice. The close-ups of Ninaare as constant as in any film with Angelina Jolie, and after a while,enough already. Yet the director catches the frenetic pace of rehearsalwith that movement; he also captures the doppelganger of Nina's dualityby framing multiple shots through mirrors and reflecting water. Afterawhile, enough already.There can never be enough of good acting, and this film has a surfeit.Besides Portman's Oscar-worthy performance, Vincent Cassell playsartistic director Thomas Leroy with a genial malevolence that takes theclassic impresario in Red Shoes, Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), to anew level of Machiavelli, or Pygmalion, if you will. Barbara Hershey asNina's creepily smothering, former ballerina mother effectively keepsFreud at the forefront. Mila Kunis as Nina's rival has an earthinessthat contrasts vividly with the other uptight ballerinas.Black Swan can also be easily seen as a metaphor for the obsessionnecessary for any great performer. Nina's descent into madness can benothing less than the natural outcome of greatness achieved at thesacrifice of one's personal freedom and sanity. Despite the flourishesof this hyper drama, Aronofsky has achieved the greatness also in hisfilm: It's not the rude world of his Wrestler with Mickey Rourke alsopicking at his flesh, but the close up and personal view of anachieving, troubled performer is the same.Nina: "I had the craziest dream last night about a girl who has turnedinto a swan, but her prince falls for the wrong girl and she killsherself.'
Dany H (26 April 2012)
Best film I've seen this year so far
Whenever Natalie Portman comes out in a movie, you know there's goingto be a major reason to watch it. Then you add Mr. Aronofsky and youjust HAVE to see it.A lot of reviews have been made about this film and they've left withnot much to say that hasn't been stated before. The fact is clear: thisfilm is absolutely mind-blowing. Everything about it is almost magical:music, cinematography, script, editing and of course the fantasticperformance of all actors involved.Needless to say, Natalie deserved that Oscar more than anyone elsenominated. A big amount of the plot lays on her acting and she reallycouldn't have done it better, at all. But we also have to mention Mr.Cassel and Miss Hershey (Nina's mother) amazing performance. I was alsovery pleased to see Winona even for the relatively few minutes sheappeared, it was almost like a dream to see her and Natalie actingtogether because i'm a huge fan of both. I hope we'll see more of thiswoman in the future.Although I like Nine Inch Nails pretty much, I believe that ClintMansell should have won the award for Best Score. He wasn't evennominated! The score is simply beautiful and a thousand times betterthan Social Network's. I didn't even like the latter.I was captured by the plot every single second it lasted and it's trulyone of the best films I have ever seen and most definitely the bestI've watched this year. 10 out of 10 all the way.
(24 April 2012)
Darren Aronofsky's Vision Is Very Dark...
There is no question that Darren Aronofsky is a master filmmaker. The acting was great. But watching this film was a painful experience for me. "Requiem for a Dream" was a powerful film and one would expect drug addicts to end up badly, but the experience of an artist in the free world should not be this tormenting.You would not go and see this movie for the dancing - the film contained little of it. The camera tastefully dealt with great difficulty of the choreography by showing a few brief glimpses of relatively easy practice and performance sequences, and only fragments of dancers' bodies, like faces and feet, at other times. This "over the top" production with neat computer-generated special effects and blurred lines between reality and fantasy must have been an attempt to make a grand statement about the world of art. You would like this film if you have a professional interest in the way visual stimuli are used to convey an idea, or if you can only appreciate art for style and not substance. If you are looking for a good plot, however, you will find this film lacking. Natalie Portman's character was wretched. She completely lost her way as a human being. If you met that kind of woman in real life, you would instantly feel her misery and pain. Her self-mutilation scenes made me cringe. All the other characters were either mentally ill or seriously flawed.When I came home, I put in the Bolshoi Ballet's Swan Lake DVD with Maya Plisetskaya. I wish Darren Aronofsky's film about ballet was based not on some phantasmagoric nightmarish scenario but on the life and career of this great ballerina, who faced many serious challenges and nevertheless managed to achieve the kind of success that could be an inspiration to all of us. In the hands of a competent director, a good story could make the difference between a trendy flick and a potentially classic film.
Daniel Dercksen (24 April 2012)
Haunting portrait of obsession
It is not always possible for us to get close to a world we admire, orfully understand the art of obsession. As a supreme storyteller andultimate visceral visualist, Darren Aronofsky gives as a uniqueopportunity to step into the shoes of a tormented ballerina in BlackSwan. His intimate and haunting portrait of an artist consumed bypassion and fueled by obsession, is magnificently realised by NataliePortman, who delivers the performance of a lifetime in a role shevividly brings to life. The unison between director and performer iselectrifying and sets the screen on fire. This powerful cinematicexperience takes film to an exciting new level, allowing us to be fullyemotionally immersed and really share the experience of the characterswith sincere and brutal honesty. Aronofsky never wallows insentimentality, rather allowing the vulnerability of his characters totake us on an unexpected and meaningful journey. It is not a film aboutballet, but a film about the dance of life, delicately exploring theconfrontation between the good and evil that makes us human, andexposing the fragile vulnerability of being human. Aronofsky lures usinto a haunting, fractured world of delusions, doubles and paranoia inhis first psychological thriller. He spins a sensual and chilling taleof a prima ballerina locked in an obsessive battle with dark impulsesthat slowly engulf her. It is the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerinain a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in herprofession, is completely consumed with dance.
Jonny Fendi (24 April 2012)
It Was Perfect
The little girl in "Leon: The Professional" (1994) has grown up now.Natalie Portman is at her peak performance so far. Team up with heavycaliber Director Darren Aronofsky, they made a beautiful story buthorrifying at the same time. Aronofsky is invincible, especially whenhe explores human desperation, like in his previous films "Requiem fora Dream" (2000), "The Fountain" (2006) and "The Wrestler" (2008). Forabout 100 minutes of the movie, I felt like I was experiencing thetheater performance, not just like a common movie. It's filled withbeautiful images and great orchestra. Nina (Portman) is a chosenballerina to fulfil her dual roles all at once, to be irresistibleinnocent white swan and also to become seductive evil black swan.Slowly but sure, the darker side of black swan absorbs her real life. Ilove the brilliant cinematography. Aronofsky seems to use twotechniques of camera work. The first is for the long shot, he usessteady conventional method. And the second for the close up, heutilizes shaky hand-held camera. I have ever said before that hand-heldcamera is modern technique in today cinematic world. Not only foraction, but recently for drama as well, hand-held camera is able toeffectively drag you into the middle of ongoing situation, if you arenot using hand-held camera, you are outdated now. The performers areeffectively suitable. Vincent Cassel is fit for provocative andambitious ballet instructor. Mila Kunis is fit for seductive andambitious Nina's colleague. Barbara Hershey is fit for authoritarianand ambitious mother. And even a brief but impressive appearance byWinona Ryder as anxious and ambitious competitor. Yeah, it is all aboutthe ambition and you can see it in each character. All of them havetheir own ambition. However, the star of all stars above is Portman.She shows her darker side successfully, you could literally feel herpain, pressure and paranoia situation. The movie becomes moremysterious with some unusual sex scenes. For the last half hour of filmduration, she drives us into beautiful but ironic condition, sometimesabsurdity become the part of it. Those last scenes are extremelyterrifying, with broken fingernail, peeling skin and fractured bone forthe elements. I almost could categorize thiz movie as a horror movie.The movie emphasizes in every beauty of ballet, there is a dark sidethat we never know before. Finally, I just want to say, "It wasperfect".Visit My Blog on JONNY'S MOVEE : http://jonnyfendi.blogspot.com
(23 April 2012)
Psychological Thriller runs amok...
I never got to see this in the theater as it came and went so quickly, so was very excited to rent it On Demand and finally view a movie that was raved about and won so many awards. I seriously feel I have missed something. The story runs intensely bizarre throughout the whole film, ravished wih sexual exploration going nowhere, a missing plot, and the confusion of what is real, what is delusional and why do we even care? Natalie Portman's character seems lacking in everything and I usually like her, so was sadly disappointed in the lack of character buildup. There is only so many scenes one can take with people grabbing her crotch, be it her, her understudy or her teacher. After a while it is downright boring and again we ask, why? The only reason I gave this 2 stars was that it showed the pressure ballerinas go through to attain perfection and roles, how short lived a career in ballet is, and how competitive. But sadly it only hints at these important factors which could have been played out very effectively in the film, and instead focus more on relationships that don't even exist, thus making the movie utter nonsense. The last scene was fabulous, if it had been a real performance of her actually turning into a black swan, but instead she ends up Mommy's little girl in the end, still, desperate for perfection and the character loses all she could have attained. Boring film, to be honest, and I am not a picky viewer!
(23 April 2012)
Excellent movie!
This review is from: Black Swan [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This movie is seductive and thrilling. Ambiguous ending which can be interpreted as either sad or happy. Natalie Portman is deliciously sexy all the way.
durham100 (22 April 2012)
Just a posh remake of 1995's Showgirls.
Simply awful. No merit whatsoever. If this wins an Oscar I'll eat myhat and the hats of all those around me at the time. This is one ofthose films where it is deemed philistine to not like it or is ratedhighly on a fear or having missed something you should not have missed.Sadly, there is nothing to miss. The tension is terse and kept at thesame level from beginning to end and you just don't care about whathappens to the characters. Everyone is a stereotype thinly sketched andseen countless times in a myriad of movies. In fact, everything in thefilm - the story, the characters, the attempt to shock via the sexscenes has been seen before. Don't be fooled, this is not themasterpiece people are saying it is.
Review total: 20, showing from 1 to 20