Trailer: Black Swan
I know what you’re thinking. Why hasn’t Hollywood starting churning out ballet movies like they have with the comic books. Nothing says “must see film” like ballet slippers and a tutu. Guess what? I’ll give you 5 reasons you want to go rush to the movie theater to see a movie about competing ballet dancers.
1. Darren Aronofsky. Director of Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler. Do I seriously have to explain more?
2. Clint Mansell. There’s a reason Clint Mansell is my favorite Pandora station while writing. He brings pure emotion out of his haunting scores. Check out the main theme from Requiem HERE. How many times have you heard this score stolen in various films? 6 to be exact: The Da Vinci Code, Sunshine, I Am Legend, Babylon AD, Zathura, and Lord of the Rings. Quite simply, Mansell is the mayor of Awesometown.
3. Early buzz has compared the tone to Roman Polanski’s classic thrillers, such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Tenant (please check for the sad irony on The Tenant poster).
4. As I continue to pretend the Star Wars prequels don’t exist, Natalie Portman is a much watch in whatever she is in. Except, ahem, Star Wars 1-3.
5. The freaky mirror image from the film below.
Synopsis:
Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side – a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.
Release Date: December 1, 2010
Portman is Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”
Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream, Pi) seems to finally have his next project lined up. He has toyed with the idea of a Noah’s Ark film (I know) or a Robocop reboot (really?!) but now Natalie Portman has signed on to play the lead in Black Swan, a thriller about an older ballerina and a rival protege. According to THR,
“the film centers on a veteran ballerina (Portman) who finds herself locked in a competitive situation with a rival dancer, with the stakes and twists increasing as the dancers approach a big performance. But it’s unclear whether the rival is a supernatural apparition or if the protagonist is simply having delusions.”
Anyone who has seen Requiem for a Dream must be scratching their head right now. But if anyone can make a disturbing and engaging film about the ballet, I’ll put my trust in Aronofsky. With the critical and commercial success of The Wrestler, it seems he can direct anything he wants. Consider us mildly interested at this point.
