We watched
The Black Swan last night. Terribly disappointing. Natalie Portman's acting ranged all the way from histrionic to
very histrionic. Vincent Cassel, in a kind of Balanchine-type role, had all the charisma of a wet Russian. Mila Kunis reminded me of Lindsey Lohan on Rohypnol. Of course this couild have been the fault of the director, Darren Aronofsky, who may have an eye for visual imagery but it seems only the most superficial grasp of character and plot. Ms Portman's descent into madness is a journey into the depths of cliche. I enjoyed the first couple of minutes, for its visual poetry, and thought Portman's dance, at the end, as the black swan, had some real power. The production values are terrific, of course, like most big budget American films, good lighting, clever use of mirrored images, but that isnt enough to carry the movie.
I was particularly interested in seeing the movie because of its relevence to Evidence. In Evidence, a man--young John--descends into the underworld/dreamworld, and one of his guides, whom I call Enoja, is a dancer. But I found no inspiration in this black swan, except in the sense of what I wish to avoid...
