My initial thoughts are that it was creepy and weird and awkward and scary and different and unexpected and kind of really cool. Because I do not think I can do a review justice, I will simply stick with a list of things I liked and didn't like.
Things I liked:
1. Seeing familiar faces in the dancers in the background. Dancers from Pennsylvania Ballet were featured as extras and a couple are acquaintances of mine. Very cool to be in a movie theater and go, "I know her!"
2. The close-up of the foot in the fouette sequence. Pretty sure those were Sarah Lane's feet...fierce.
3. Natalie Portman's acting. Whether you loved the movie or hated it, you cannot doubt that the girl deserves at least an Oscar nom, if not a win.
4. Natalie Portman's Black Swan makeup...obsession.
5. The creepy-not-knowing-what-the-hell-was-going-on-or-what-was-real-and-not-real of it all.
Things I did not like:
1. The stereotypes. Ok, we get it...she's supposed to be a control freak and she's a ballet dancer...she must have bulimia. #annoying
2. The sex scenes. They were awkward and uncomfortable and I covered my eyes.
3. Nina's relationship with her mother made me want to vomit. I think it was definitely a vital part of the story, but the mommy-dearestness of it all just kind of made me sick to my stomach.
4. There was more blood than I had anticipated. It was fine, but just unexpected.
5. The company seemed very competitive. Though at times, they were supportive of Nina and the other dancers, it seemed very cutthroat. The nature of companies allows for healthy competition; however, companies are more like families than anything else. If you don't have love and support from your colleagues, you've got nothin' and you won't survive in this world. Although, maybe that was the point...Nina's complete inability to be normal and her disconnect from the rest of the company and her living-with-her-mother thing perhaps isolated her and fed her delusions.
Overall, I really liked it...however, all the "masterpiece" and "perfect" reviews are a little lost on me simply because it's way different watching it from the perspective of a dancer. It's a very dark view of my world, and, while I understand it is much more psychothriller than documentary, it kind of depicts the ballet world as one that is beyond crazy, with all directors lusting after their principals and all principals going crazy over performing Odette/Odile. But in general, I thought it was a fantastic film, and I'm probably going to go with my mom over break...might leave the step-dad at home though...those sex scenes were just too much to handle...
In other news, I went to a very fun IUBT gathering on Saturday night and wore a priceless outfit...it was an Ugly Christmas Sweater Potluck and I looked absolutely ridiculous. Have a look:
Other winners included Kiki:
Alright, I'm off to bed, now that my head is partially cleared. Gonna pick up coffee in the morning and then hit the music library and the books hard. Chaucer final on Thursday and Ancient Greek Culture final on Friday. So close to break I can taste it...but I have to, you know, not fail first. Here's hoping! Good luck to the rest of you in the throes of finals week--I hope your paper-writing, project-finishing, exam-studying is going well...well, as well as it can, at least. To those of you already on break, I'm jealous. To those of you who are in the throes of Nutcracker season, hang in there...praying for you to have longevity and joy in the monotony. And to the rest of you, I hope that you are well and finding at least a little time to yourself in this busy month of Christmas shopping, gathering, and craziness. Love to all.
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