Post by klep on Sept 18, 2017 6:52:22 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/18: Black Swan
PSYCHODRAMA WEEK!
Something that Darren Aronofsky is particularly fond of doing is using people with damaged psyches to interrogate deep, existential themes. This psychological damage is typically expressed in the form of some obsession - Max Cohen's obsession with math's potential to unlock the universe in Pi, everyone's obsession with the next high in Reqiuem for a Dream, Noah's obsession with following God's commands in Noah, and Tomas/Tommy/Tom's incessant quest for immortality in former Movie of the Week The Fountain.
In Black Swan, Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina, and her obsession is with achieving and perfecting the part of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. There's a sense of desperation to her from the very start, and while it's not a major part of the film we definitely know why. Ballet is an industry with a high churn rate, and ballerinas only have a brief time in their prime. Nina has already been at this a long time, and the fact that she only has a limited number of chances left is undermined by the 'retirement' of her troupe's star Beth (Wynona Rider). If Nina blows the shot she is given here, she may never get another and she is very aware of that.
But Nina is struggling with the role. Her technique is precise and controlled - perfect - but that isn't enough for her director Thomas (Vincent Cassel). Control and precision are great for the White Swan, he says, but the Black Swan needs to operate from instinct, desire, and a certain level of abandon. These are qualities he sees in troupe newcomer and Nina's alternate Lily (Mila Kunis). But Nina's life is all about control. Even when not practicing, her mother (Barbara Hershey) keeps Nina's life fairly regimented, treating Nina like she's still a little girl. Nina simply has no experience letting go - and her frustration with her inability to satisfy Thomas starts her fraying and leads to a full-on break.
But in that break, she finds what she needs. As Nina's grip on sanity loosens, so does her performance improve. And when she finally snaps on opening night, it leads to the performance of a lifetime, one that brings down the house. As she bleeds out from a wound self-inflicted in an hallucination, Nina says "I was perfect," and the film fades to white.
Aronofsky was no doubt drawn to Nina's obsessive struggle (one of only a couple of his films he didn't write himself), but he was likely also drawn to a theme present in both this film and his new film Mother, that of the cost of creation, of art. Nina's only desire is to perform - to dance the lead, and to create a perfect performance. Thomas' desire is to draw that out of her. And they succeed, but at what cost? The artists are driven to destructive levels in their quest for their art, and in the end Nina only finds what she needs in the sacrifice of her life. Neither is blind to the need for sacrifice for their art - only the magnitude of the sacrifice it will take. In the end, Nina believes it was worth it, and Aronofsky seems to agree.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/25: Cleo from 5 to 7
IT'S LADIES' WEEK!
Join us next week for another edition of Ladies' Week as Agnès Varda finally enters the Movie of the Week pantheon with this real-time peek into the life of a Paris singer in the sixties. Cleo from 5 to 7 is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 9/19: Stand By Me
With It surprising everyone with its monstrous box office, the Next Picture Show podcast is taking a look at the history of Stephen King on film by pairing it with Stand By Me. We'll have a thread for the older film on Wednesday. Stand By Me is available for rent on Amazon Video, and is free for Prime members with a Sundance add-on.
PSYCHODRAMA WEEK!
Something that Darren Aronofsky is particularly fond of doing is using people with damaged psyches to interrogate deep, existential themes. This psychological damage is typically expressed in the form of some obsession - Max Cohen's obsession with math's potential to unlock the universe in Pi, everyone's obsession with the next high in Reqiuem for a Dream, Noah's obsession with following God's commands in Noah, and Tomas/Tommy/Tom's incessant quest for immortality in former Movie of the Week The Fountain.
In Black Swan, Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina, and her obsession is with achieving and perfecting the part of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. There's a sense of desperation to her from the very start, and while it's not a major part of the film we definitely know why. Ballet is an industry with a high churn rate, and ballerinas only have a brief time in their prime. Nina has already been at this a long time, and the fact that she only has a limited number of chances left is undermined by the 'retirement' of her troupe's star Beth (Wynona Rider). If Nina blows the shot she is given here, she may never get another and she is very aware of that.
But Nina is struggling with the role. Her technique is precise and controlled - perfect - but that isn't enough for her director Thomas (Vincent Cassel). Control and precision are great for the White Swan, he says, but the Black Swan needs to operate from instinct, desire, and a certain level of abandon. These are qualities he sees in troupe newcomer and Nina's alternate Lily (Mila Kunis). But Nina's life is all about control. Even when not practicing, her mother (Barbara Hershey) keeps Nina's life fairly regimented, treating Nina like she's still a little girl. Nina simply has no experience letting go - and her frustration with her inability to satisfy Thomas starts her fraying and leads to a full-on break.
But in that break, she finds what she needs. As Nina's grip on sanity loosens, so does her performance improve. And when she finally snaps on opening night, it leads to the performance of a lifetime, one that brings down the house. As she bleeds out from a wound self-inflicted in an hallucination, Nina says "I was perfect," and the film fades to white.
Aronofsky was no doubt drawn to Nina's obsessive struggle (one of only a couple of his films he didn't write himself), but he was likely also drawn to a theme present in both this film and his new film Mother, that of the cost of creation, of art. Nina's only desire is to perform - to dance the lead, and to create a perfect performance. Thomas' desire is to draw that out of her. And they succeed, but at what cost? The artists are driven to destructive levels in their quest for their art, and in the end Nina only finds what she needs in the sacrifice of her life. Neither is blind to the need for sacrifice for their art - only the magnitude of the sacrifice it will take. In the end, Nina believes it was worth it, and Aronofsky seems to agree.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/25: Cleo from 5 to 7
IT'S LADIES' WEEK!
Join us next week for another edition of Ladies' Week as Agnès Varda finally enters the Movie of the Week pantheon with this real-time peek into the life of a Paris singer in the sixties. Cleo from 5 to 7 is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 9/19: Stand By Me
With It surprising everyone with its monstrous box office, the Next Picture Show podcast is taking a look at the history of Stephen King on film by pairing it with Stand By Me. We'll have a thread for the older film on Wednesday. Stand By Me is available for rent on Amazon Video, and is free for Prime members with a Sundance add-on.