Chinese New Year is a time we spend it with our family and in our case, ‘extended’ family. At the stroke of midnight, Cynthia, our gaming buddy Mark, and I were in our goblin form (with two others) battling gnomes and machines inside the dungeon Gnomeregan. We did not notice the time until we saw the long list of warm wishes flowing from the guild chat window. On the second day of New Year, we met my sister, her husband Benny, and little Bethany. On the first day of New year, Cynthia, our movie buddy TK, and I watched “Black Swan”. I have extremely high expectation on this movie because first, I am a huge fan of Natalie. I love her performance since the beginning, when she partnered with Jean Reno in the 1994 Luc Besson movie. Second, I am a huge fan of Tchaikovsky, especially his ballet piece – Swan Lake. I used to have several versions of Swan Lake recorded by different conductors and orchestras in cassette format. You may think that a classical piece is a classical piece and they are the same. But they are not. When you are used to the rhythm and the details of a particular recording, listening to a different one can be – initially – excruciating. I could write on and on about Swan Lake, the classical music. And Swan Lake, the ballet. But let’s go back to the movie, “Swan Lake”.
I would prefer to classify “Black Swan” as a drama and a psychological thriller, rather than an erotic thriller as marketed here in Singapore. It is ironic because after the censorship – noticeable on that girl-on-girl scene – what is left is a series of fast forward awkward looking shots. But look at the brighter side, two decades ago, seeing two girls kissing on screen must have been unthinkable in Singapore. Perhaps two decades from now, adult viewers can enjoy artworks closer to the original form.
The story of “Black Swan” is surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) simple and straightforward. There is a loose tie in with the ballet’s story development too. Ballet dancer Nina – played by Natalie Portman – is going to be the swan queen, dancing the roles of both the white and the black swan. Does perfection require technique and control? Or rather, passion and letting go? It is a story of one lead ballet dancer’s struggle to embrace the opposing roles and her transformation from the white swan to both the white and the black swan. Natalie Portman is a brilliant actress. Some scenes on how she methodologically goes through the ballet training are almost too painful to watch. The result is authentic. You can see that she has put in a hundred and ten on this movie.
From the choreography and filming viewpoint, of the few ballet scenes on screen, I felt lifted watching them (according to Cynthia, I was shaking). Partly because I have already loved the music (and the actress). And partly because of the special effects added to some of the scenes in making them more than what we seen on a real life ballet stage. I am not a ballet dancer and am unable to comment on the technique of the actors and the actresses and their doubles. From what I have seen on screen, I am convinced.
Will the Oscar voters agree with Natalie Portman that this is perfect? We will have to wait and see.