Black Swan: Unoriginally Interesting

I finally watched Black Swan last night--better late than never. Quick overview: it was entertaining, had an interesting and timeless subject matter, and some great acting, but was fairly unoriginal. It was pretty much exactly what i expected, knowing Aronofsky as a filmmaker and understanding the nature of the film as a psychological thriller. It used all the classic/expected tools that merge a film's form/style with its plot/story: handheld camera, gritty film quality, mirror motif, two similar looking actors that play off the dual personality theme, etc etc. Additionally, the relationship with the mother was unoriginal as well, but that's ok. It was necessary for the plot. it was the typical controlling mother, trying to relive her past and/or live vicariously through her daughter.

While it wasn't necessarily original in these regards, it did still surprise me at times. For example, Natalie Portman's character, Nina, was timid, shy, and easily controlled. I did not expect this from the previews. I assumed she was going to be a high-strung control freak which is why she eventually goes crazy. But instead it seems her descent into insanity--or "perfection"-- was a result of her being impressionable, and was eventually her final attempt and success at taking control over her own life. I think the film did an interesting job of portraying her possession (by fear, anxiety, the threat of a competing ballerina, her sexuality etc) through the character of Mila Kunis. It made me want to re-watch Fight Club which does the same thing with Ed Norton and Brad Pitt. The parallels are actually really overt--it seems that Ed Norton's character is punching Brad Pitt but then we see that Norton's actually punching himself, just how Portman is fighting, kissing, etc Kunis but is really only interacting with herself.

More on Mila Kunis's character, Lily: I think she served a purpose as a foil character, showing the "wild" or "black" side that needed to be freed from Nina; however, she was totally boring at the same time. That character did not stray from Kunis's typical roles, and didn't challenge her as an actor. The character was not very complex, and didn't really surprise me at all throughout the film. Oh well.

Theme of body: The theme of body was again merged by both the style and content of the film. The cinematography highlighted the dancers' emaciated frames, and their scratches, nails, and wounds. The theme of dancing and ballet inherently concerns "body," since it's a physical activity and relies upon movement, flexibility, and of course a slender physique. Additionally, the concept of "body" in terms of Nina's ownership (or lack thereof) of her own was perhaps the driving theme of the entire film. Her body was her outlet--both as a professional dancer, and as a psychosomatic/masochistic/cutter type. But ultimately, her body is both what she has no control over, and the one thing she CAN control in her life (through self-inflicted pain/damage).

The ending (spoiler alert?): The ending was like a perfectly-wrapped package in the sense that she ends up stabbing herself with a shard of a mirror (which is a theme the entire time). Of course she stabs herself with a mirror. But this unoriginality didn't totally bother me, because at least the end was still kind of ambiguous. Some may say: yes, she for sure dies in the end.  I say it's not completely concrete. She sort of "ascends" into self-realization, which is also pure craziness. Yes she may have literally died, and something definitely figuratively died, but for me, I don't feel 100% sure of either, which I enjoy. I don't want the film to tell me how it is. I want it to let me think about it and argue all sides. So good job!

So in conclusion, the film was interesting and entertaining. I enjoyed it. I didn't roll my eyes once!