Black Swan

The movie was about a psychotic break down. It wasn't going to be about puppies and flowers. I didn't think the acting by Natalie Portman was that great, but I can appreciate the work that went into the film. I enjoyed "The King's Speech" much more. This has never been a movie aimed at kids, but it really made me think about mental illness. I don't think the sex scenes were gratuitous, but to each their own. It was part of the ongoing story of a descent into madness.

Just saw this tonight on dvd... Very odd.

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Originally Posted by canuckinchile

The movie was about a psychotic break down. It wasn't going to be about puppies and flowers. I didn't think the acting by Natalie Portman was that great, but I can appreciate the work that went into the film. I enjoyed "The King's Speech" much more. This has never been a movie aimed at kids, but it really made me think about mental illness. I don't think the sex scenes were gratuitous, but to each their own. It was part of the ongoing story of a descent into madness.

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Exactly. It was about the high cost of the quest for perfection and what it did to this poor girl using the world of ballet as a backdrop. Her fate didn't matter to her in the end. All that mattered is that she was perfect, and that she had her mother's approval at the end (and to be honest, I think seeing her mother in the audience was yet another of her hallucinations). The sex scenes were all about her trying to capture the essence of the Black Swan (as opposed to just having sex) rather than physical intimacy, and the scene with her friend was a hallucination. To her, Lily was the personification of the Black Swan (and everything that she wasn't), so IMO that whole scene was about absorbing some of Lily's energy inside of herself. She did the same thing when she stole Beth's belongings.

Movie ratings exist for a reason. The fact that BS is rated R should be enough to let people know that it isn't kid-friendly and will have some mature themes.

I recently watched the movie and found it quite thought provoking. I'm not an idiot, but for a little while I thought she might really be turning into a swan. LOL That's some pretty good acting.

I watched it a couple of times to make sure I caught little things. One thing that I don't undertand and it's not big deal, but when she wants another chance to finish the Black Swan part with the director, she tells her mother she is going to ask the next day. Her mother says there is no need to lie about it. What does that mean. She wasn't lying. She was going to ask for another chance to finish. What about that was a lie? Just curious.

this movie is playing at the 1.50 theater this weekend and I am going to see it...I have heard it is totally psycho and really messes with your mind and keeps you on the edge of your seat..my kind of movie

The ballerina who was Natalie Portman's body double for the dance scenes was on 60 Minutes about 2 weeks ago saying that she did 80% of the dance scenes. The even shown how with CGI - computer generated imagery, a real ballerina can do all the actual dancing and the editors can put a skin of Natalie Portman over the actual dancer. Cool. The ballerina was upset that it appeared and the studio publicity department were implying that all it takes to become a top ballet dancer is to do what Natalie did, train and eat like one for a year and viola and Oscar winner. The dancer does think that Natalie deserves the Oscar for acting the part, but just wanted to be on record that Portman was not a real ballerina and perhaps the studio was glossing over that fact.

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Originally Posted by Bearcata

The ballerina who was Natalie Portman's body double for the dance scenes was on 60 Minutes about 2 weeks ago saying that she did 80% of the dance scenes. The even shown how with CGI - computer generated imagery, a real ballerina can do all the actual dancing and the editors can put a skin of Natalie Portman over the actual dancer. Cool. The ballerina was upset that it appeared and the studio publicity department were implying that all it takes to become a top ballet dancer is to do what Natalie did, train and eat like one for a year and viola and Oscar winner. The dancer does think that Natalie deserves the Oscar for acting the part, but just wanted to be on record that Portman was not a real ballerina and perhaps the studio was glossing over that fact.

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I've seen that dancer's claims for several weeks now. I think she's not making smart choices at all if she ever want to get another job like that, which pays a lot more than being a member of a ballet company does. There are hundreds of ballerinas who would jump at the chance.

Singers, dancers, musicians have been dubbing for stars for decades, right along with stunt men and women. Sometimes they get a film credit, sometimes they don't. Marni Nixon made a living at it for years before anyone knew who she was. Think of Audrey Hepburn dubbed in My Fair Lady, Deborah Kerr dubbed in The King and I, Isaac Stern doing the violin playing for Fiddler on the Roof, dancing dubbed for Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. Heck, they even used a real chef's hands as a substitute for Lenny Henry in Chef!

Natalie Portman did a good deal of her own dancing in Black Swan. She trained hard, but in no way was she going to become a prima ballerina in the amount of time she had, or any amount of time. Most real ballet dancers don't get that far. The role needs a good actress who can dance, not a good dancer who probably isn't a good enough actress. Cyd Charisse or Leslie Caron could have done it when they were young.

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Originally Posted by Florimel

I've seen that dancer's claims for several weeks now. I think she's not making smart choices at all if she ever want to get another job like that, which pays a lot more than being a member of a ballet company does. There are hundreds of ballerinas who would jump at the chance.

Singers, dancers, musicians have been dubbing for stars for decades, right along with stunt men and women. Sometimes they get a film credit, sometimes they don't. Marni Nixon made a living at it for years before anyone knew who she was. Think of Audrey Hepburn dubbed in My Fair Lady, Deborah Kerr dubbed in The King and I, Isaac Stern doing the violin playing for Fiddler on the Roof, dancing dubbed for Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. Heck, they even used a real chef's hands as a substitute for Lenny Henry in Chef!

Natalie Portman did a good deal of her own dancing in Black Swan. She trained hard, but in no way was she going to become a prima ballerina in the amount of time she had, or any amount of time. Most real ballet dancers don't get that far. The role needs a good actress who can dance, not a good dancer who probably isn't a good enough actress. Cyd Charisse or Leslie Caron could have done it when they were young.

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Thank you...I mean stars have had doubles do all kinds of things for them in movies for years..why now is it such a big deal..we know Natalie didn't do a lot of the dancing..that kind of dancing takes years and years of training

I heard about the dancer's claims - it was on 20/20, not 60 Minutes - but I didn't get to see her.
I agree with Florimel. The dancer should have quit talking. Neither the studio nor Natalie was claiming that she did all the dancing. She did train hard for it and was able to do some simple steps, but the biggest contribution was her great acting.

The ballerina's main complaint was that it seemed to her the studios and publicity machine prepping Portman and the movie for a possible Oscar where glossing over the fact that is takes years to become a prima ballerina not a mean year. She didn't like that the studios were slighting how hard ballet is and how hard dancers work to become good at their profession.