Plot: What’s it about?
As we delve further in to spring, we’re finally getting all of the Academy darlings on a home format. The latest of those is “Black Swan”, the much talked about/anticipated film by acclaimed director Darren Aronfsky. Mr. Aronfsky has a way with films and suffice it to say that if you haven’t had the pleasure of viewing one – you should. The first time I saw “Pi” I was mesmerized and if you can make it through the last fifteen minutes of “Requiem for a Dream” without squirming, well then you’re a better person than I am. He then went for somewhat of a departure with “The Fountain” with Hugh Jackman brought Mickey Rourke back to the limelight with “The Wrestler.” All of those, I feel, were a mere precursor to “Black Swan”, a film so unlike any other that words are hard to describe it. Natalie Portman won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for her work as Nena, the young starlet who lands the lead role in a retelling of “Swan Lake.” I’ll say that “Black Swan” certainly isn’t for everyone (Aronofsky’s movies have a tendency to polarize audiences).
Nina (Natalie Portman) is an aspiring ballerina. She’s a hard worker who lives with her overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey), who controls most every aspect of Nina’s life. The director, Thomas LeRoy (Vincent Cassel) has decided to do a new take on the classic ballet of “Swan Lake” and is also retiring Beth (Winona Ryder), who’s been in the spotlight for a few years too many. Nina is perfect for the part of the white swan with her perfect moves and grace. But this ballet also combines the part of the black swan, which requires a little more personality rather than sheer technical perfection. Enter Lily (Mila Kunis), a recruit from San Francisco who also catches the director’s eye. As their rivalry grows, so does their uneasy friendship which is just a bit more than plutonic. Nina’s drive to nail the part is taking its toll on her in more ways than one, as well. Will she embrace the black swan within and deliver the perfect performance or will her obsession drive her to the brink of insanity first?
Let me say it again, “Black Swan” isn’t for everyone. I can count the number of films I’ve seen about ballet on one hand and though I’m sure the filmmakers nailed the technical aspects of it, most of us probably couldn’t tell. Having seen all of the nominees for Best Actress in their respective roles now, I’d have to say that Natalie Portman was, in fact, the best choice to win the award. She racked up dozens of awards throughout the season and all were well-deserved. Overlooked, I think, was Mila Kunis’ performance (and she’s also the voice of Meg on TV’s “Family Guy”). The tone and mood of the film is as dark as they come and I’m sure being a ballerina in New York City is about as stressful a job as working on Wall Street. Aronofsky has once again shown that his unique vision can pay off in critical and commercial acclaim, and hence we have “Black Swan.”
Video: How does it look?
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I put this movie in. Having just seen another low budget film “Rabbit Hole”, I was pretty impressed. This, however, was from Fox and visually the 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer isn’t the crisp, clean transfer that could have been. I don’t fault the Blu-ray for the grit and grain in the film, that’s the filmmakers doing. The movie is very dark in both tone and nature and that’s reflected visually. The dark shadows on the faces of the actors, the uneven contrast in some of the interior scenes and the lack of detail that some other Blu-ray’s have isn’t quite as evident here. Is this a bad transfer? No. This is a very unique transfer and the hand held camera work gives us more of a personal attachment to the characters in the film. So while the colors are a bit off and muted, the image does retain its sharpness and is still consistent with most of today’s releases. It’s an interesting transfer, for sure, but by no means bad.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is something I wasn’t quite expecting. The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track certainly has its moments and a majority of those are in the final act. The operatic score resonates throughout the channels and gives a real sense of depth during some scenes. There’s a segment when Lily and Nina go to a nightclub and the music is thumping and even engaging the LFE. It feels like you’re right there. The dialogue is sharp and clean as well. There’s not a lot of action associated with ballet and naturally some of the things that make soundtracks sound great aren’t present here. Still, the score alone was enough to leave a lasting impression on me and for that reason alone, I give it above average marks.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There are a sampling of supplements, but nothing I’d consider to in depth. I think Fox was in a hurry to get this movie out just after the Oscars and this is what we have. What we really have are several featurettes that run 3-4 minutes and give us a brief insight on the film. Staring off we find “Ballet” in which we get a glimpse of ‘Swan Lake’ and the main character. Moving on we come to “Costume Design” which is pretty self-explanatory and then “Production Design.” We then get a couple profiles with Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky as well as Portman’s rigorous training and preparation for the role. The most robust supplement is courtesy of The Movie Channel in which we get a series of five interviews with the main stars of the film: Natalie Portman, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder and Vincent Cassel as they all talk about their respective parts and roles in the film. There’s also some BD-Live content as well as a digital copy of the film for your mobile device.
