Sunday, January 16, 2011

Black Swan

Natalie Portman plays a ballerina cast in the role of the white/black swan in Swan Lake. Mila Kunis plays a rival- but is she? Is Portman's character crazy from the get-go and that's why she still lives with her mother in a pink bedroom full of stuffed animals, scratching herself until she bleeds? Does she bleed or not? Can we see the truth, or is it all a psychosexual illusion?  Well, you got me. I have no idea. Portman's character is so boring for the first half of the film that it's hard to care what happens to her. Mila Kunis, on the other hand, is fascinating- alive and seductive, she brings out some feeling in the audience. Now, some people may be saying that was the point of casting her in opposition to Portman's character. I'd say that I have found Portman's wispy voice and self-effacing demeanor to be annoying and boring. Maybe having a baby will bring something out in her. But her performance is compounded by looking at her brutally thin body. Is it worth seeing- well, perhaps if you like ballet and will enjoy that part of it. But frankly, even movies with quirks shouldn't totally leave the audience wondering about what they have seen.