Black Swan

Black Swan... hmmm. I guess I'll start off with what I knew about it before watching. I knew that Darren Aronofsky directed it. I knew that I love his films. I knew that two ladies I enjoy watching, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, were in it. I knew that it was about ballet. I knew I know nothing about ballet. On top of all that I knew that many people proclaimed WTF after watching it and that usually means I'll like it.
I can say that I'm not typically a fan of dramas. There are some here and there that catch my interest but this one unfortunately wasn't one of them.
I didn't think the movie was bad by any means, I just couldn't get into it. I just kept waiting for it to get WTF weird. I think part of the reason was that I have no connection to professional dancing. I don't understand how a person can be extremely technical and not get the same reaction from the audience as someone who "looses themself" in the part. Does emotion really transfer that much through someone dancing on a stage? I can understand it being important in film or TV or even music where the audience is up close an personal with the performers but not in ballet on stage. It's kind of weird that I can understand it in one art form but not another. Although I guess if the dancers didn't immerse themselves in their parts then every production would seem like an elementary school play. This disconnect lent to me not really being able to attach to the characters motives. I also have no idea what it's like to obsess about anything so much that it would drive me crazy. I'm too scatterbrained for that. If something I'm working starts making me crazy, I usually drop it and find a new interest. I never stick to one thing for very long. The other thing that I had a problem with was more with the hype than the film itself. I think if I had seen it cold, without any knowledge of the film, I would have probably liked it more. I wouldn't have been waiting the whole time for it to get weird. Pretty much the whole time I just kept thinking about what was gonna happen that freaked everyone out so much. Then when the end came, I was like, "That's it? Ummmm. OK I admit it was a bit strange but it wasn't THAT crazy." Of course, with the amount of insane films I have watched in my life so far, I'm not too surprised that I was a little let down. But these are my issues, not the movies. If you want to see a portrayal of insanity, watch π, Requiem for a Dream, or go to David Lynch's Eraserhead. Or even better, Slaughtered Vomit Dolls. This is an unbelievably vile and disturbing movie that the director claimed was a representation of "the insanity just before death." If you can make it through while not be completely revolted and feel as though you've gone insane yourself... you're probably already wearing a straight jacket. This is the type of film I compare "strange" movies to.
Overall, I think Black Swan was done well. I think the characters were well acted but many seemed rather flat, storywise (Maybe the script itself was too technical and could have used more human touches to the characters... hmmm). To Natalie Portman's credit, her character was supposed to be rather 2D. Vincent Cassel really flew off the screen and was in your face. And one thing I had taken note of while watching was that Barbara Hershey had my eyes wide in a "wow that was creepy" look at a few points.
The strangeness that went on in the movie helped convey the feeling of someone really cracking under pressure, which I believe is the whole point of the movie. I think if I didn't have my hangups, I would have been more into the flick. Now I want to go and watch π and Requiem for a dream.