Black Swan

Black Swan - Dir. Darren Aronofsky (2010)

Black Swan is a feverish concoction that recalls the early psychological thrillers of Roman Polanski along with the backstage drama of All About Eve and a dash of Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes. Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky continues exploring themes of addiction and the mental anguish that comes from naked ambition. In his debut film, Pi, a mathematical genius is driven to the brink of insanity due to an obsession with a numerical sequence that might allow one to contact God. His sophomore effort, Requiem for a Dream, followed a quartet of hopeful dreamers whose lives are utterly destroyed by their addictions.

Thematically, Black Swan matches up very closely to Aronofsky's previous picture, The Wrestler. On the surface, ballet and professional wrestling seem like they are worlds apart, one is considered highbrow and the other lowbrow. But, both are performance arts that require its participants to sacrifice a great deal in terms of physical well-being and personal lives. While The Wrestler focused on a downtrodden man past his prime, Black Swan centers on a young woman at the cusp of a burgeoning career.

Natalie Portman is Nina Sayers, a dancer for a prestigious New York company run by the artsy alpha male, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). For the new season, Leroy boastfully proclaims that his production of Tchaikovsky's "Black Swan" will practically reinvent the old standby. He chooses Nina as his new lead with reservations. In terms of grace and technique, Nina has all the skills necessary to dance the role of the White Swan. However, she lacks the raw sensuality to dance the role of her twin, the Black Swan. As Nina throws herself into her work, her grasp on reality gradually unwinds. Her unbalanced mental state is only exacerbated by the arrival of Lily (Mila Kunis), who threatens to steal her spot as the company's top star. Lily is everything that Nina is not. Lily is sexy and free-spirited whereas Nina is virginal and repressed.

Physically, Nina must remain thin and lithe while mentally, she is kept in a state of child-like regression by her overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey). The Sayers live in a cramped apartment with Nina's bedroom decorated in pink and littered with doodles and stuffed animals. It's clear that whatever psychological problems have plagued Nina for years and haven't sprung up overnight.

Much like David Cronenberg, Aronofsky blurs the line between reality and the protagonist's distorted fantasies. The director pulls the carpet out from under the audience multiple times as Nina slips further and further away from sanity. The film's much talked about lesbian sex scene between its starlets is a firm example. Perhaps, it really happened. Most red-blooded males certainly hope it did. Was it a complete dream or maybe a masturbatory desire? Also cribbed from Cronenberg is Aronofsky's fascination with extreme body horror as Nina finds herself gradually morphing into some sort of avian form.

The first and second acts of Black Swan are gripping thanks to the excellent performances of Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. Aronofsky's long-time cinematographer, Matthew Labatique (who shot on Super 16mm with some DSLR work), gives the film a grainy look that only accentuates the moody atmosphere. But, the film's final act is where it goes completely off the rails. Black Swan switches from creepy psychological thriller to wildly over-the-top melodrama. Any semblance of subtlety is thrown right out the window. It's difficult to tell if Aronofsky wanted the movie to be taken seriously or treated as camp.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Wrestler

The Wrestler - Dir. Darren Aronofsky (2008)


Who’da thunk it? A movie about professional wrestling with a strong presence during awards season. More importantly, a movie about professional wrestling that doesn’t suck. Need I remind you of Body Slam or No Holds Barred? The pseudo-sport has always been treated as a joke by the mainstream, but I hope The Wrestler will make people think slightly differently about it.

Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a huge star during the wrestling boom period of the 1980’s. His match against long-time rival The Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) was the main event at the world famous Madison Square Garden. The film’s opening credits (set to “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” by Quiet Riot) feature playbills, posters, and articles from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other wrestling magazines I used to read in the supermarkets, all of which are adorned with the Ram’s visage. The credits fade and we cut to today as an old, beat-up Randy Robinson sits alone in an elementary school classroom after his latest match. This star has faded.

Nowadays, the Ram ekes out a living on the independent circuit, wrestling in high school gyms and VFW halls. In real life, he’s Robin Randinsky and works a lousy part-time job at a grocery store where he takes crap from his condescending boss. After the show, Ram drives back to his trailer park (while “Don’t Know What You Got ‘Till It’s Gone” by Cinderella plays on the radio) only to find himself locked out of his trailer for falling behind on rent. He has to wear glasses to read and a hearing aid in one of his ears. His daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), wants nothing to do with him. But, in the ring, he’s still the Ram. In the ring, he’s treated as a god by a small, but adoring fanbase. In the ring, he’s treated as a hero by the young up-and-comers of the indie scene who shake his hand and call him ‘sir’ and say, “It’s an honor.”

However, outside the ring, his only friend is a stripped named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). Although, her real name is Pam and she’s a single mom. Just like Randy, she plays a character on stage and uses her body to pay the bills. Age plays a big factor in both their lives as neither can continue on as Father Time rears his ugly head. Randy is perpetually stuck in the 80’s, listening to hair metal while still playing his 8-bit Nintendo. In one of the film’s best scenes, he and Cassidy lament the death of the glam bands following the rise of Kurt Cobain and grunge (”The 90’s fucking sucked.”). When the Ram suffers a heart attack after a particularly brutal match, he’s forced to put his life in perspective including getting back in touch with his estranged daughter.

Following the failure of his big-budget epic, The Fountain, director Darren Aronofsky triumphantly returns with this small, more personal film. The Wrestler shares similar themes with Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream in that both pictures deal with addiction and the crushing realities of life. However, the former is far less depressing and just a little less fatalistic. Aronofsky also jettisons the glossy camera and editing techniques for a much more documentary approach. This is thanks in no small part to cinematographer Maryse Alberti who has shot documentaries such as Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. The camera is dropped right into the ring during the Ram’s wrestling matches as we hear every body blow and called spot. In the locker room, we feel like a fly on the wall as the wrestlers plan out the moves for their matches. The camera lingers behind Randy the Ram backstage just before he enters the arena then follows him through the curtains. We also follow him through his regular routines. He visits the salon to keep his hair blonde and flowing. He lies in a tanning bed and buys steroids & growth hormone from a fellow wrestler who is a walking pharmacy. This is a film that oozes authenticity.

As I write this review, Mickey Rourke has just won a Golden Globe for his performance as Randy “The Ram” Robinson. He will surely be a strong contender for an Oscar. David Ansen of Newsweek called this the “Resurrection of Mickey Rourke.” I thought he’d been back for a while. Take a look at Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, Domino or even Spun. Nonetheless, this is the role that cements his comeback. It’s not a stretch for Rourke who also saw his star power drop significantly following some poor business and personal decisions. Randy the Ram is as much an extension of Rourke’s persona as Gran Torino’s Walt Kowalski was of Clint Eastwood’s. Rourke’s weathered, beat-up face says all you need to know about the character. That face and leathery skin certainly evokes images of past wrestling superstars like Ric Flair or Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. There’s a lot of hurt hidden beneath the tough exterior. He gets staple gunned and thrown through plate glass during one bout, but it’s only in the real world where he admittedly feels any real pain.

Rourke isn’t a sad sack though; he’s a lovable lug with plenty of charm. After being moved from the stock room to the deli counter, Randy eases into the role and treats it just like any other show with the customers as his audience. He tosses containers of potato salad like a football. When one customer asks for two big breasts of fried chicken, the Ram replies, ”That’s what I want. Something with two big breasts and a brain.” Rourke also performed the majority of his own stunts. He’s in his early fifties but he’s on screen busting out flying headscissors and leaping off the top rope for his signature finisher, the Ram Jam. He even blades himself, slashing a razor blade across his forehead to give the fans blood. And what can I say about Marisa Tomei? She gets better and better, acting-wise and looks-wise.

The Wrestler isn’t a perfect film. The script is excellently written by Robert D. Siegel, a former editor-in-chief at The Onion, even if it borrows a bit from the Rocky formula. The scenes between Randy and his daughter are heavy handed and the dialogue isn’t all that original. Lots of ‘You were never there for me’ which we’ve heard plenty of times. However, The Wrestler is still packed with an extraordinary amount of raw emotionality. There’s triumph and tragedy, laughs and tears, and images which will remain in your mind long after the film ended.

Rating: ****