Black Swan

[LXA SE285]

Saw it last night—who else? Thoughts?

[groovypq]

Is it as creepy as it looks?? I dig ballet movies, but not so much horror.

[LXA SE285]

Is it as creepy as it looks?

Yes, and then some. It's much more psychological thriller than horror, though.

[knight_shadow]

I just read about this last night. I'm clearly not in the movie's demographic, but it looked pretty interesting.

[SMTTT]

I really want to see it but they aren't even playing it in Mississippi. I guess "in theaters everywhere" doesn't really mean everywhere these days =(

[joliebelle]

I saw it last week and I really liked it; I especially liked that it didn't have the typical ending that I thought it was going to have. It's definitely a psychological thriller and similar to one of the director's other works (Requiem for a Dream)

[33girl]

eeek, if it's similar to RFAD I will be skipping. Thanks for the heads up. It's a really well made movie with outstanding performances but it freaked me out to the point that I had to sleep with the light on which never happened before.

[ASUADPi]

Originally Posted by SMTTT

I really want to see it but they aren't even playing it in Mississippi. I guess "in theaters everywhere" doesn't really mean everywhere these days =(

The production company probably released it to the "main" cities (i.e. New York and L.A.) so that it could be in Oscar contention. A lot of movies do this, they will release to New York and L.A. prior to the end of the year, so that the movie can be considered for the Oscars and then once the new year starts they release it "worldwide".

[tri deezy]

SPOILERS:

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

I think the major themes were the lengths people push themselves for perfection, the existence of a "darker side" to one's personality, regret and aging in the arts, mind games and (potentially, depending on how you view it) mental illness.

Originally Posted by DrPhil

At this point, people who haven't seen the movie but keep clicking on this thread are essentially looking for spoilers. What else could they expect to read?....I think the major themes were pushing for perfection, mental illness, and crazy bitch (which is different than mental illness).

I won't feel bad for saying what I really wanted to say now.

I thought that this movie was majorly about serious mental illness. Natalie Portman's character had a very serious case of non-medicated schizophrenia. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the aunt of an old friend of mine who, during a psychotic episode associated with her schizophrenia, cut off her own lips with a razor blade thinking that they were filled with spider eggs. That's why I wrote about how the theme of this movie is extra creepy since it really does happen to people. Schizophrenia is a terrifying disability that's sometimes treated as a joke by people outside the medical and mental health fields. I don't know what this movie will do for its reputation, but I hope that people who see the movie realize that that's what's being portrayed!

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by tri deezy

Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the aunt of an old friend of mine who, during a psychotic episode associated with her schizophrenia, cut off her own lips with a razor blade thinking that they were filled with spider eggs.

Originally Posted by tri deezy

That's why I wrote about how the theme of this movie is extra creepy since it really does happen to people. Schizophrenia is a terrifying disability that's sometimes treated as a joke by people outside the medical and mental health fields. I don't know what this movie will do for its reputation, but I hope that people who see the movie realize that that's what's being portrayed!

The parts that made me cringe were her body scars. Ouch.

Everyone knows someone with a mental illness, diagnosed or undiagnosed. I think Black Swan could have done a better job with that. Wynona Rider, the ballet teacher, the woman with the tattoo, and her mother were okay stories but it made it seem jumbled. I guess the world of a schizophrenic is jumbled.

Even her turning into a black swan would've made more sense if they hadn't run through it. The movie wasn't particularly deep so people who left the theater like "what the hell" aren't necessarily adults who are not experienced with mental illness nor are they idiots who can't think without everything being spelled out for them. LOL. No one in this thread is saying that but that was just my thought when I wonder what Black Swan could've done differently.

[33girl]

Were they trying to make it a surprise that Winona Ryder is in this movie? I haven't seen her in the ads at all (or if she was in them she was unrecognizable) and I didn't know she was in it until I read this thread.

Or is it that she really isn't news anymore so the marketing peeps didn't really think it was worth a big mention? (See: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler.)

[DTD Alum]

I actually think it is more similar to The Wrestler in theme and certain plot points than it is to RFAD. Besides it being intense, I thought it had little in common with RFAD. Aronofsky has said he believes Black Swan to be a companion/continuation of The Wrestler.

The previews are a bit misleading as to the plot, but overall the movie is fantastic. Natalie Portman is amazing in it, and she studied ballet 5 hours a day for 8 months to look believable as a dancer. She looked great, and 90% of the dancing onscreen is her. Aronofsky said they only used her double for extended pointe work. Mila Kunis is a terrible dancer (making her "talent" in the film hard to swallow) but she is a great foil for Natalie's character.

It's very intense, but in a psychological way rather than a horror/gore way (think Hitchcock rather than Saw). The last twenty minutes are admittedly hard to handle. Great story though, gripping film overall. The man is a genius.

[joliebelle]

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

I actually think it is more similar to The Wrestler in theme and certain plot points than it is to RFAD. Besides it being intense, I thought it had little in common with RFAD. Aronofsky has said he believes Black Swan to be a companion/continuation of The Wrestler.

The previews are a bit misleading as to the plot, but overall the movie is fantastic. Natalie Portman is amazing in it, and she studied ballet 5 hours a day for 8 months to look believable as a dancer. She looked great, and 90% of the dancing onscreen is her. Aronofsky said they only used her double for extended pointe work. Mila Kunis is a terrible dancer (making her "talent" in the film hard to swallow) but she is a great foil for Natalie's character.

It's very intense, but in a psychological way rather than a horror/gore way (think Hitchcock rather than Saw). The last twenty minutes are admittedly hard to handle. Great story though, gripping film overall. The man is a genius.

I actually haven't seen The Wrestler yet, but it's definitely on my to watch list. Definitely agree that it is "intense" and more in the vein of Hitchcock than anything else.
I never really considered Natalie to be a good actress but this film definitely changed my view. She might just be getting an Oscar for her performance in Black Swan.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

The last twenty minutes are admittedly hard to handle.

PM me and tell me what happens in the last 20 minutes.

There are certain things/images that don't bother the general populace that leave me in a fetal position sobbing, and vice versa.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by 33girl

PM me and tell me what happens in the last 20 minutes.

There are certain things/images that don't bother the general populace that leave me in a fetal position sobbing, and vice versa.

You might want to turn to Wikipedia if you are contemplating avoiding the movie - this account is quite detailled:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_(film)