Black Swan

DKelly · 06-16-2009, 01:42 AM

Well, it appears a Robocop remake may actually not be Darren Aronofsky's next film after all, as the lead role of another film project of his has just been cast. I'm pretty sure a date has not yet been set for release yet though, as the film is still listed as "in production" on IMDB.

The film, a supernatural thriller named Black Swan, is set in the world of the New York City Ballet, and is about a veteran ballerina who finds herself locked in to a competitive showdown with a rival dancer, with the stakes and twists increasing as the dancers approach a big performance. The problem is that the main character can't figure out if her rival is a figment of her imagination or not. The lead role of the film has just recently been cast, with Natalie Portman having just signed onto the project as the veteran ballerina. The script, originally written by John McLaughlin, has gone under a rewrite from The Wrestler producer Mark Heyman.

I'm extremely excited about the possibilities of this. The plot sounds really interesting to me, Aronofsky directed my favorite film of 2008, and the man is amazing at working with actors and getting incredible performances out of whoever he works with(with great examples being Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler and Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For a Dream). I really think he will end up getting a brilliant performance out of Portman.

DKelly · 07-27-2009, 06:25 PM

According to this site, Mila Kunis has just been cast in the film. She will be playing the part of Natalie Portman's character's mysterious rival.

Mila Kunis Will Hunt Natalie Portman's 'Black Swan' - Cinematical

Interesting. I wasn't expecting that bit of casting, but I think Portman and Kunis will play well off of each other, especially under Aronofsky's direction. I'm starting to get really excited about this film.

conceived in fire · 07-27-2009, 06:31 PM

I'm guessing Portman just needs a good script + director to work with if she's to give a good performance - the former of which she didn't have in the Star Wars prequels, and did have in The Professional as well as Garden State. (I hear that she's good in Closer, but I have very little interest in seeing it)

Kunis is gonna be interesting. (That 70's Show anyone?) I'm ready to be surprised by her.

Lastly I'm a big Aronofsky fan so I'll definitely see this at some point.

DKelly · 07-27-2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conceived in fire

I'm guessing Portman just needs a good script + director to work with if she's to give a good performance - the former of which she didn't have in the Star Wars prequels, and did have in The Professional as well as Garden State. (I hear that she's good in Closer, but I have very little interest in seeing it)

Portman is a very talented actress. The blame for her bad performance in the Star Wars prequels should be laid squarely on the shoulders of George Lucas, as he is not very good when it comes to directing actors. Even Harrison Ford admitted to that: here's what he said about Lucas as a director, according to the bio page on Ford's IMDB page:

"I think George likes people. I think George is a kind, warm-hearted person, but he can be a little impatient with the nature of acting, the need to work 'til you find something. He's like, 'It's right there, it's right there, I wrote it, it's there, just do it'. But you can't just do it that easily."

Basically, don't blame Portman for giving a flat performance in that. It wasn't really her fault, it was Lucas' direction that deserves the blame.

conceived in fire · 07-27-2009, 08:02 PM

Yeah, I think most of the blame should go to Lucas's script personally. The completely dry script combined with that quote mean the actors deserve half the blame at most.

Have you (or anyone else) seen The Professional? She's excellent in that, and she was only 11.

DKelly · 07-27-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conceived in fire

Yeah, I think most of the blame should go to Lucas's script personally. The completely dry script combined with that quote mean the actors deserve half the blame at most.

Have you (or anyone else) seen The Professional? She's excellent in that, and she was only 11.

I actually own The Professional. Hers is one of the best performances by a child in a film that I've ever seen. I still hold that my personal favorite performance from her is in Cold Mountain. She definitely deserved the nomination over Zellwegger, despite how good Zellwegger was. I'm really glad that she and Kunis are going be working with Aronofsky on this.

In fact, I actually think this could turn out to be Kunis' big break as far as getting to show how much talent she really has(even moreso than Forgetting Sarah Marshall was).

DKelly · 11-10-2009, 05:08 PM

I've got some more news about this film.

Fox Searchlight, the company that distributed Aronofsky's last film The Wrestler, has announced that they're gonna distribute this one as well.

Also, three new cast members have been added to the film: Winona Ryder will play the lead dancer at the ballet school Portman's character goes to who is nearing the end of her career, Vincent Cassel will play the sinister director of the stage production, and Barbara Hershey will play Portman's character's mother.

conceived in fire · 11-11-2009, 07:22 PM

Excited about this. I need to watch The Fountain again too.

DKelly · 11-11-2009, 08:10 PM

Based on my admiration for Aronofsky alone, this has become my most anticipated film of 2010 (the cast makes things even better). The man is so good when it comes to telling a story. The only film that comes anywhere near equaling my level of excitement is Chris Nolan's Inception.

DKelly · 07-23-2010, 01:34 AM

It has been announced that this film will open the Venice Film Festival in, I believe, September.

Also, there have been at least one of two early test screenings for the film. According to the site below, someone sent them an extremely limited review stating that he'd attended one of the screenings. Despite not going into any detail about the plot, he said that he was mesmerized by Portman's performance, saying that, in his opinion, it's the best performance she's given thus far:

Early Buzz: Black Swan Test Screening Report “Natalie Portman Has Never Been Better” | /Film

And here's a first look at Portman in the film (and yes, the face with the red-tinted eyes is indeed Portman's):

Awards Daily's Oscar Countdown--Watching Oscar 24/7 » Blog Archive » First look at Aronosky’s Black Swan

The film is, from what I'm hearing, going to be a bit of a mindtrip ala Inception (which I haven't been able to see yet), except even darker and more twisted. My excitement for the film is only increasing.

DKelly · 08-17-2010, 07:35 PM

And here's the trailer:

YouTube - `Black Swan` Trailer 2010

Not. Missing. This.

conceived in fire · 08-20-2010, 03:17 PM

Looks like something more along the lines of Requiem for a Dream or Pi. I'm extremely excited.

DKelly · 12-10-2010, 12:47 AM

Saw a pre-screening of this tonight, and man, was it ever good!

Whereas The Wrestler had a story that relied almost directly on the character interactions and performances, Black Swan had a bit more of a tangible story apart from just the characters, even though it revolved almost completely around Portman. It succeeded in being both very intense and very weird as well. This is one you'll definitely want to see again to pick up what you may have missed from before.

Speaking of Portman, this is by far the best performance she has given thus far in her career. This was by far the most layered and challenging character she has portrayed yet (a huge 180 from the characters she usually plays) and she nailed it pitch perfectly. She deserves, at the very least, an Oscar nomination and, depending on what I think of Nicole Kidman in the upcoming Rabbit Hole and Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right, the Oscar may rightfully deserve to go to Portman. Vincent Cassel was excellent and very mysterious in the role of a somewhat sleazy ballet director, Barbara Hershey was effectively unsettling in the role of an overprotective mother living somewhat vicariously through Portman's character, and Mila Kunis was fantastic in the role of a free-spirited rival of Portman's character. Also, Winona Ryder, in the three to four scenes she was in, was masterfully effective and creepy and served as a terrific image of what the role of the Swan Queen can do to someone.

A warning, though: for those of you who are offended by sexual material, you may not find this movie to your liking. There is no nudity in the film, but there are some very clearly sexual scenes in the movie, so it's not going to be for everyone. I will say, though, that the sexual scenes are indeed necessary to the arc of Portman's character and is not gratuitous at all.

At the moment, I'm having a very hard time deciding whether this or The Wrestler is my favorite Aronofsky movie. It is very VERY good and any Aronofsky fan or any fan of great, thoughtful cinema should see this film.

**mtlmouth** · 12-10-2010, 12:56 AM

This movie seems like it's going to be creepier than I usually enjoy, but I'm actually pretty excited for it. Actually, I'm just excited for Christmas movie season in general. But this is one that I need to see.

DKelly · 12-10-2010, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtlmouth

This movie seems like it's going to be creepier than I usually enjoy, but I'm actually pretty excited for it. Actually, I'm just excited for Christmas movie season in general. But this is one that I need to see.

It was a very creepy movie. There are a number of things that are very cringeworthy in the same way that the hardcore wrestling match in The Wrestler was (where Mickey Rourke's character gets stapled and all that). However, this is definitely, at the very least, tied for the best movie I've seen this year, up there with Toy Story 3.