black swan

i walked away from black swan wondering if i liked it or not...i wasn't exactly sure...but the movie has stayed with me more than most i've seen recently, so i'm going to go with "liked it".

the trailers for the movie are pretty accurate: is this stalking / sabotage thing only in nina's (natalie portman) head, or are people around her really trying to psych her out? everytime the viewer thinks he has it figured out, suddenly it's turned all around again. this happens half a dozen times, at least.

a tad heavy on the black vs white theme in set decorating particularly with the ballet director's office, with random white and black props tossed in the background.

i also had a small quibble with how meek nina was in her "white" mode...could someone in this art form have gotten where she got, with no backbone? but, that made it all the more gratifying when the black swan emerges throughout the movie.

and the black swan "performance" is easily an emotional highlight of the movie...pretty awesome. it's reported that natalie portman studied ballet for a year in preparation for this role. i wonder what real ballet dancers think of her technical performance.

same director as the wrestler, and requiem for a dream, both of which i like a lot.

(note: the eyebrows made their appearance)