Did you know that there’s a group known as The Women Film Critics Circle and, much like the DFW Film Critics, I am not a member despite being 1) a woman, 2) a film critic, and 3) a feminist? I swear, I am feeling so rejected right about now…
Then again, looking over their 2010 movie awards, I’m not sure I would want to be a member. Check out their selections and then see if you can guess which one has got me all annoyed and profane.
BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Mother And Child
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Winter’s Bone
BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
The Kids Are All Right: Lisa Cholodenko
BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening/The Kids Are All Right
BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth/The King’s Speech
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence/Winter’s Bone
BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Annette Bening/The Kids Are All Right BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: *TIE*
Mother
Women Without Men
BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Conviction
WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Black Swan
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE: *TIE*
Another Year
The King’s Speech
WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Jackass 3D
BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Temple Grandin
BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES: *TIE
Another Year
Fair Game
BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Despicable Me
BEST FAMILY FILM
Toy Story 3
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Helen Mirren
ACTING AND ACTIVISM
Lena Horne [posthumous]
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women:
Winter’s Bone
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
For Colored Girls
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
Fair Game
COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Helen Mirren/The Tempest
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Q’Orianka Kilcher/Princess Kaiulani
BEST DOCUMENTARY BY A WOMAN
A Film Unfinished
WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
Mother And Child
BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Another Year: Jim Broadbent/Ruth Sheen as Tom and Gerri
Did you catch it? Yes, that’s right. With all of the demeaning, insulting, sexist crap that both the mainstream and the independent film industries have released this year, Black Swan wins the award for “Worst Female Images In A Film.”
Uhmm, really?
Yes, Natalie Portman dealing with a society that forces an unrealistic expectation of perfection on young women — this is a far more negative image than every female character in The Social Network turning out to either be a bitch, a whore, or an idiot. Natalie Portman suffering from bulimia because she knows the consequences if she doesn’t maintain the right body type — this is a far more insulting image than Anne Hathaway being charmed by Jack Gyllenhaal pretending to be a doctor while leering at her exposed breast in Love and Other Drugs. This was the year that Rebecca Hall fell in love with a man who kidnapped her in The Town while The Killer Inside Me lingered lovingly on scenes of Casey Affleck beating both Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson to death. But no, out of all this, Black Swan featured the worst images of women on screen.
What utter and total bullshit.
I am a feminist and I am proud to be fiercely pro-woman (though never blindly anti-male). I have always been very aware of the fact that, regardless of intent, most movies are basically sexist fantasies. And, like a lot of women, I’ve come to accept that as the price I pay for loving movies. It’s something that I’m more likely to laugh at than to get outraged over. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes get tired of it, that I don’t sometimes wish that just for once, I could see a movie where the female lead didn’t need to be rescued by a man or where she wasn’t expected to epitomize some sort of stereotype.
To be honest, male filmmakers are not solely to blame. Some of the most demeaning images of women have come from films that were directed by women and which were advertised as being “feminist” films. Sometimes it seems like movies are either so busy trying to either keep women down or to build women up that they forget that most of us just want to be seen as human beings.
So no, Natalie Portman is not some sort of “feminist ideal” in Black Swan. She cuts herself, she’s bulimic, she fears her own sexual desires, she’s too hard on herself, and she’s manipulated by the men around her. And you know what? That’s not a sexist fantasy. For far too many women, present and past, that’s the life that has been forced upon them by an inherently sexist society. If anything, that’s the type of life that feminism was supposed to provide an escape from.
Instead, the stridency and judgmental attitudes of far too many so-called “feminists” has simply turned into another way to trap us into that life of guilt and shame and idealized demands of perfection.
The female images in Black Swan are not negative. They’re honest and that’s why Black Swan meant more to me, as a woman, than every single self-conscious, strident “feminist” film ever made.
As for the worst female image in a movie — give that award to Eat Pray Love for being yet another movie that basically gives us a spoiled, immature, rich, elitist lead character and then insults women everywhere by trying to present her as some sort of practical model for liberation.
Julia Roberts traveling across the world without once waking up with dark circles under her eyes might be the ideal but Natalie Portman being leered at by an old pervert on the subway is the reality.
For once, this has been a good year for strong women on American film screens. Whether it was Noomi Rapace as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank,or even Angelina Jolie as Salt, this has been a year of strong female images. This has been a year of films that left me feeling empowered — not in the wishy-washy way that so many insultingly condescending films claim to empower but in an honest way that made me feel, for once, that I didn’t have to accept the idea of any limitations on my own dreams or desires.
It wasn’t just a good year to be a girl who loves movies. It was a great year.
Every year, there’s a handful of film scenes that come to define the entire year for us. At their best, these scenes can leave such an impression that they become a part of our shared history. For some people (though not me), 2009 will always be the year of Avatar. Meanwhile, for me (but not others), 2010 will always be the year I realized it was okay to admit how much I love to dance. Listed below are 20 of the many film moments that I will remember whenever I look back on this current year.
20) Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield discover what really happened to all of their childhood artwork in Never Let Me Go.
Permeated with an atmosphere of nonstop melancholy, Never Let Me Go never quite found the audience is deserved but I think it’s one of the best films of 2010 and the scene mentioned above is one of the reasons why.
19) Scott Pilgrim says, “Oh cool, coins!” in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.
And Lisa Marie suddenly realizes that she has fallen in love with a movie.
18) Keifer Sutherland says, “Tap that ass” in Twelve.
Truth be told, I don’t even remember what was happening on-screen. I just remember Keifer, as the film’s narrator, saying “Tap that ass” in that sexy, nicotine-fueld growl of his and thinking to myself, “Well, okay…”
17) Jake Gyllenhaal chases down a bus full of dying old people in Love and Other Drugs.
Yes, the old people desperately need to get up to Canada so they can get their prescriptions filled but unfortunately for them, Anne Hathaway happens to be on the bus as well and Jake — apparently realizing that he’ll never get to see her breasts again if they break up — chases the bus down in his Porsche so he can reconcile with her. And, of course, the old people are just so adorably excited at the idea of a 15-minute delay while these two deeply damaged characters stand outside and talk about their relationship. I mean, fuck it — who cares about getting these people their medicine when there’s a disposable pop tune playing in the background and Jake wants to talk to his ex-girlfriend? In so many ways, this scene represents everything I hate about mainstream filmmaking.
16) Joseph Gordon-Levitt flies through the corridors of a dream hotel in Inception.
Inception was a film full of amazing images but my personal favorite was perhaps the simplest — Joseph Gordon-Levitt (looking rather adorable in his dark suit) floating down those Argentoesque hallways while trying to figure out how to wake everyone up.
15) Jacki Weaver delivers the line of the year in Animal Kingdom.
“And you’ve done some bad things, sweetie.”
14) John Hawkes “talks” his way out of a traffic stop in Winter’s Bone.
While Winter’s Bone should rightfully make Jennifer Lawrence a star, John Hawkes also contributed some of the film’s best moments.
13) Patrick Fabian slips a recipe into his sermon in The Last Exorcism.
Cast as a modern-day Marjoe Gortner in this underappreciated film, Fabian gives one of the best performances of the year, if not the best.
12) Chloe Grace Moretz saves Kick-Ass from the mafia in Kick-Ass.
As far as women kicking ass was concerned, 2010 was a good year. Sure, the majority of cinematic female portraits were — as always — sexist to the extreme but there were a few rays of hope. Angelina Jolie in Salt, Noomi Rapace in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo films, Mila Jovovich in Resident Evil — all were among the women who got to do something more than just look pretty while the boys saved the day. Seeing as how I’m honoring Rapace further down the list, I’m going to allow Chloe Grace Moretz (in the role of Hit Girl) to serve as a stand-in here for every single woman who was allowed to kick a little ass in 2010.
11) Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg walks down the streets of Lowell at the beginning of The Fighter.
Seriously, this entire sequence — set to Heavy’s How You Like Me Now? (or “The Sock Monkey Song” as I call it) — could be a short film in itself. Call it: “Men and why we love them.”
10) Colin Firth fearfully waits to give a speech at the start of The King’s Speech.
One look at Firth’s terrified eyes and I was in tears. From that minute on, this unexpected gem of a film had me.
9) Jennifer Lawrence fishes for her dad’s hand in Winter’s Bone.
Southern gothic at its best!
8) James Franco is rescued by a purifying storm in 127 Hours.
Helpless and hopeless, Franco is suddenly freed by a sudden storm. Both Franco and director Danny Boyle handle this scene with such skill that the audience finds itself just as saddened as Franco when it all turns out to be a hallucination.
7) Katie Jarvis dances in an abandoned apartment and finds a momentary glimmer of hope in Fish Tank.
Between this movie and Black Swan, 2010 was the year that reminded me of just how much I love to dance and why. 2010 is the year that I realized it was okay for me to love to dance again.
6) Andy gives away his toys at the end of Toy Story 3.
And Lisa Marie cries and cries.
5) Lisbeth Salander (played by Noomi Rapace) gives her abusive guardian a tattoo in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
For any and every girl who has ever been used, abused, hurt, spoken down to, insulted, manipulated, or betrayed by someone who claimed to only be looking after her best interests, this scene was truly cathartic. When I say that Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth will be iconic, it’s largely because of scenes like this. In that one scene, Lisbeth is established as a woman who will never be victimized and it gives hope any for those of us who don’t have dragon tattoos.
4) Footage from Theirry’s completed “documentary” is revealed in Exit Through The Gift Shop.
And the audience is suddenly forced to question just how much of anything they’ve seen is the truth.
3) The spinning top wobbles at the end of Inception.
Or does it?
2) Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win the Oscar for best director while her ex-husband glowers in silence.
I wasn’t a huge fan of The Hurt Locker but I still squealed with delight as Kathryn Bigelow accepted the award that should have gone to Sofia Coppola back in 2004. Not only did Bigelow make history but she did it by beating her soulless jerk of an ex-husband, James Cameron. And then she gave one of the best acceptance speeches in Oscar history, all the while looking about 20 years younger than she actually is. In short, Kathryn Bigelow showed every Oscar winner — past, present, and future — exactly how it’s done.
1) The final fifteen minutes of Black Swan
In 15 minutes, Darren Aronofsky reminded me of how much I love ballet and audiences of why we love movies in the first place.
So, I was talking to a friend of mine about the movie The King’s Speech and I told him that the movie was very good but that it managed to “raccoon eye me.” He found this comment to be very humorous. In fact, he could not stop laughing at me. Finally, I got him to stop giggling long enough to explain to me what exactly was so funny about me crying for 2 hour and 13 minutes. At that point, he explained to me what “raccoon eyes” means to him and apparently every other boy on the planet and all I can say is “ewwwwww!” Seriously, I’m open to just about anything but….uhmm, no. Sorry, no.
Anyway, when I say that The King’s Speech left me all “raccoon-eyed,” I’m referring to the fact that I started crying about 3 minutes into the film — basically from the first minute that a frightened-looking Colin Firth tried to speak into a microphone — and I didn’t stop until the movie was over.
Why was I crying? A lot of it is because (and I know I say this about almost every movie I see but so what?) I related to the film’s subject matter. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI (father of the current Queen of England). Like millions of others (myself included), George VI spoke with a stutter. Ordinarily this wouldn’t have been a problem (as royalty wasn’t necessarily meant to be seen or heard) but George VI just happens to become king at a time when almost every household has a radio and everyone expects to hear the king’s voice. In short, the people expect the king to not only speak for them but to speak with them as well and George VI finds himself unable to even speak for himself, much less his nation. As a result, his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) secretly arranges for the king to receive help from an eccentric, self-trained speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). The film details the King and Logue’s often contentious friendship, following their relationship up until George VI finds himself, in the days after the start of World War II, required to give the most important speech of his life.
To a certain extent, you’re going to have to take it on faith that The King’s Speech is a very intelligent, very funny, and very entertaining film because there’s no way to describe the film’s general plot without making it sound like one of those really tedious, boring films that always come out in December. However, director Tom Hooper takes material that might otherwise have been dry and predictable and he films it with a surprising flair so that even the most predictable of scenes (i.e., the King and Logue get inebriated together and the King talks about the loneliness of being royal) feel fresh and surprising. This a film that is both interesting to look at and listen to. Hooper recreates an often foggy, pre-World War II London using a palette of grays and faded primaries. As a result, the film somehow manages to be both melancholy and nostalgic at the same time. You marvel at the recreation of the past even with the knowledge that everything’s going to be destroyed in another few years by the onslaught of world war.
Hooper gets uniformly excellent performances from his entire cast. Rush is eccentric without being overly flamboyant and a result, his performance never descends into the cutesy tricks that have marred so many of his recent onscreen turns. Bonham Carter, as well, gives one of her most sympathetic performances, suggesting the class of royalty with just enough hint of the off-center persona that made her the perfect Marla Singer.
However, the film ultimately belongs to Colin Firth. After years of playing upper class idiots and tragically repressed company men, Firth finally gets to play a human being. It’s a tribute to his talent that he manages to be believable as both “Bertie,” the insecure Duke of York and as the man Bertie will eventually become, King George VI. The reason I cried through this film is not just because I used to (and occasionally still do) stutter. The reason was because Firth captured the essence of having so much to say but not feeling as if you’ll ever be allowed to say it. Everything Firth does in this film — whether he’s losing his temper over Lionel’s attempts to get him to open up or sadly trying to tell his daughters a joke or joyfully shouting out every piece of profanity he can think of because he doesn’t stutter while being profane — is perfection. I hate to say that any one was born to play a role (because I think it tends to devalue just how much effort goes into good acting) but it’s hard to escape the feeling that everything Firth has ever done on-screen was simply preparing both him and us for his triumphant performance here.
At the same time, I should add that The King’s Speech is probably the most English (as opposed to British) that I have ever seen. Lionel may question why George VI’s royal duties lead him to suffer but he never once questions whether or not those royal duties are actually necessary. Furthermore, the film also tells the tale of Edward VIII (a wonderfully narcissistic turn from Guy Pearce) and his famous abdication from the British throne so that he could be with “the woman I love,” American Wallis Simpson (played by Nurse Jackie’s Eve Best with a permanent scowl). The film presents Edward and Simpson with absolutely zero sympathy and leaves little doubt that the last thing a member of the British Royal Family should ever do is fall in love with a divorced American.
(That said, the film is probably correct when it suggests that Simpson and Edward were sympathetic to the Nazi cause.)
It says something about the three lead performances and the strength of Hooper’s direction that even I — proud as I am of my roots in Catholic Northern Ireland — still loved this film despite its obvious pro-English bias.
After the movie ended and I had finally managed to stop crying and clean my face, I found myself reflecting on the fact that I feel as if I know so much about the British Royal Family and yet everything I know about them comes from going to the movies. As far as the cinematic family history is concerned, The King’s Speech is the best chapter yet.
How can you not be enthusiastic about a film with a title like “The Sinful Dwarf?” That said, I think Peter Dinklage could kick this guy’s ass. This was apparently a “lost film” until a copy was found in a janitor’s closet in Denmark. “What do you think of the blonde?” “hahahahahahaha”
This is actually a rather depressing rip-off of Maniac. The trailer makes it look a lot more interesting (and fun) than it actually is. Which, of course, is what a trailer is supposed to do. (The DVD, by the way, features a pretty interesting interview with the star of this film, Dan Grimaldi.)
3) Corruption
“No women will dare go home alone after seeing Corruption!” That’s right, boys, go see Corruption and you will get laid! You can say a silent prayer of thanks to Peter Cushing after…By the way, I’m planning on seeing Corruption on DVD but I’ll be sure to watch it at a male’s house or apartment in order to make sure that I have someone to escort me home afterward. So, if any of you guys out there have an hour or two to kill (so to speak)…
I like this trailer and I have a feeling I might find something to enjoy in the actual film is just because I come from a long line of swamp girls. That said, I don’t think I could be one myself. There’s too many little buggies and things flying around the swamp.
Is the haunting Theme From Swamp Girl stuck in your head now?
In previous editions of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers, I haven’t highlighted any of the several hundred mondo film trailers that are out there because I kind of agree with something that Giovanni Lombardo Radice said: mondo movies are a remnant of fascism. And they are. But, I had to include Journey Into The Beyond here because how can you not enjoy listening to John Carradine?
If you happen to watch an Italian or Spanish slasher film made between 1979 and 1983, there’s a fairly good chance that Edmund Purdom will turn out to be the killer. Well, I guess Purdom got sick of being typecast because, in 1983, he directed a film of his own and it’s a holiday film!
Christmas Evilis an odd little horror film from 1980. It’s odd not that it features a killer Santa Claus but that the killer Santa is, ultimately, a rather sympathetic character. If a slasher film could ever be described as sweet than Christmas Evil is definitely that film.
Of course, that might not be evident from the scene below. Still, I think the scene perfectly shows what so many children know — Santa is a judgmental and intimidating figure.
The Academy has released a list of the 41 songs that they have determined are “eligible” for an Oscar nomination next year. Considering how this year has gone, I shouldn’t be surprised that the songs that I really liked (like “Kick Ass” from Kick Ass and “End Credits” from Harry Brown) have not been deemed eligible.
Anyway, via Awards Daily, here’s the complete list of the eligible songs:
“Alice” from “Alice in Wonderland”
“Forever One Love” from “Black Tulip”
“Freedom Song” from “Black Tulip”
“Bound to You” from “Burlesque”
“Welcome to Burlesque” from “Burlesque”
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque”
“There’s a Place for Us” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
“Me and Tennessee” from “Country Strong”
“Despicable Me” from “Despicable Me”
“Prettiest Girls” from “Despicable Me”
“Dear Laughing Doubters” from “Dinner for Schmucks”
“Better Days” from “Eat Pray Love”
“If You Run” from “Going the Distance”
“Darkness before the Dawn” from “Holy Rollers”
“Sticks & Stones” from “How to Train Your Dragon”
“Le Gris” from “Idiots and Angels”
“Chanson Illusionist” from “The Illusionist”
“Never Say Never” from “The Karate Kid”
“To the Sky” from “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”
“What If” from “Letters to Juliet”
“Life during Wartime” from “Life during Wartime”
“Made in Dagenham” from “Made in Dagenham”
“Little One” from “Mother and Child”
“Be the One” from “The Next Three Days”
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
“When You See Forever” from “The Perfect Game”
“I Remain” from “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
“Dream Big” from “Pure Country 2: The Gift”
“How I Love You” from “Ramona and Beezus”
“Darling I Do” from “Shrek Forever After”
“Noka Oi” from “Six Days in Paradise”
“This Is a Low” from “Tamara Drewe”
“I See the Light” from “Tangled”
“Rise” from “3 Billion and Counting”
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″
“Eclipse: All Yours” from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”
“Nothing” from “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too”
“A Better Life” from “Unbeaten”
“Shine” from “Waiting for ‘Superman’”
“The Reasons Why” from “Wretches & Jabberers”
I saw Burlesque with my friend Evelyn earlier tonight (hi, Evelyn!) and even though the movie was pretty silly, we ended up singing our own version of “Bound to You” for three hours afterward.
I also thought that “Better Days” from Eat Pray Love and “Dear Laughing Doubters” from Dinner For Schmucks were both perfect examples of good songs written for rather disappointing movies.
Still, I’m sad to see that “Pimps Don’t Cry” won’t be getting a chance to bring The Other Guys some Oscar glory.
Since it’s the holiday season, I’m going to do a bonus-sized, two-part edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers this week. So, assuming that I’m not upset by who wins the Amazing Race and that Julia Stiles survives tonight’s episode of Dexter, I’ll put together and post part two sometime later tonight. And if I am upset, expect to see it sometime Monday.
Anyway, here’s the first part of our special, pre-holiday edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers. Just a quick note, three of these films are apparently not available on DVD or even on VHS! To be honest, I imagine their trailers are probably a lot more fun than the actual movie.
1) Wicked Wicked
What is Anomorphic Duovision? Well, I did some research last night and I’ll explain it all after the trailer.
Duovision, it turns out, is a fancy way of saying, “Split screen.” Like you remember in 24 whenever Keifer Sutherland would start purring in that sexy voice of his, “Dammit! CHLOE!” and Chloe would go, “Get off my ass, Bauer!” Well, more often than not, that was shown in Anomoprhic Duovision. Brian DePalma also used it in Carrie when Sissy Spacek sets the prom on fire. In other words, none of that would have been possible if not for Wicked Wicked. Apparently, in Wicked Wicked, one half of the screen featured Tiffany Bolling singing and the detective guy investigating and the other half featured the killer doing his thing.
I give this trailer mad props for resisting the temptation to be all like, “And she makes house calls…”
3) Zaat
Believe it or not, this is not, as I originally assumed, a parody trailer. I did actual research (yes, believe it or not, I do try to verify these things) and I discovered that this was a real movie from 1972 and apparently, it made a lot of money playing the drive-in circuit (a.k.a. the grindhouses of the South).
4) Angel, Angel, Down We Go
From 1969 — His name is Bogart Peter Stuyvesant and he’s hot!
This little “shocker” from 1970 was directed by Andy Milligan, who was infamous for making movies that were so bad that they often ended up being effective despite themselves.
I’ve never actually seen this film but I’ve certainly heard about it. It has a reputation for being one of the worst horror films but I have to admit, I think the trailer has an oddly dream-like power. A Night To Dismember was the last film to be directed by Doris Wishman, who — when she first started making early “nudie” flicks (the best known of which was the Nude on the Moon) in the 50s — was one of the first women to ever actually direct a theatrically released film. After her husband died, Doris’s films changed from being rather innocent and campy stories about dorky guys trying to discreetly ogle nude women to being dark and puritanical tales of the sexually active being punished. A Night To Dismember was her final film and its troubled production has become legendary. I found it on DVD once and nearly bought it but, at the last minute, put it down and bought a copy of Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To instead. The next week, when I went back to buy A Night To Dismember, I discovered that the store had been shut down and permanently closed the day after I made my last purchase. That’s just freaking typical, isn’t it?
The final 15 minutes or so of Black Swan are so intense and exhilarating that, after I watched them, I ended up having an asthma attack. The movie literally left me breathless.
I saw this movie last Saturday at the Plano Angelika and I’ve been trying to figure out just how exactly to put into words my feelings about this movie. Why is it so much easier to talk about movies we hate than the movies we love? Perhaps it’s because we all know what a bad movie looks like but a great movie is something unique and beautiful. I fear that any review I write it going to cheapen this experience.
However, I’m going to try. And if my words can’t convince you then just see the movie yourself. You’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. As with all great works of art, there is no middle ground. Unfortunately, I don’t see any way for me to talk about this film without talking about a few key plot points that could be considered spoilers. So, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, read on with caution.
This year, there’s been two types of filmgoers. There’s been those who have spent 2010 waiting for The Social Network and then there are people like me who have been waiting for Black Swan. There’s a lot of reasons why I had been so looking forward to seeing this movie. First off, it’s directed by Darren Aronofsky, one of my favorite directors. Requiem for a Dream is a personal favorite of mine and I thought The Wrestler was one of the best films of 2008. Secondly, the movie stars Natalie Portman, a great actress who rarely ever seems to get parts worthy of her talent.
However, the main reason was a personal one. Black Swan takes place in the world of ballet and, for several years, ballet was literally my life. My family used to move around a lot but whether we were living in Ardmore, Oklahoma or Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dallas, Texas, ballet always remained my constant. Every town we ended up in, my mom tracked down the closest dance studio and enrolled me. I’ve loved all types of dance (and still do) but ballet is what truly captured my heart. It provided structure for my otherwise chaotic life. Ballet was something that I knew not everyone could do and when I danced, I felt special. I felt like I was something more than just an asthmatic girl with a big nose and a country accent. I felt beautiful and strong and special. When I danced, I felt alive.
As much as I dreamed of being a prima ballerina, I always knew that I wasn’t really that good at it. I’ve always danced with more enthusiasm than technique and, if forced to choose between perfect execution and just having fun, I almost always chose to have fun. My body also conspired me against me as I’ve been a D-cup since I was 14 and while boobs don’t necessarily make ballet impossible, they don’t exactly help. Of course, my main problem was that I was (and still am) a klutz. When I was 17 years old, I tripped, fell down a flight of stairs, and broke my ankle in two places. And so ended my ballet career.
To a certain extent, falling down those stairs is the best thing that ever happened to me because it forced me to explore a life outside of the idealized fantasy of ballet. It forced me to consider ambitions that don’t necessarily have to end the minute one turns 30. It allowed me to realize how much I love to write and how much I love to watch movies. Still, I do miss ballet. While I still love to dance, it’s just doesn’t feel the same. I still have fun but it no longer makes me feel special.
I guess I was hoping that Black Swan would remind me of that feeling that I had lost. And it did.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about Black Swan.
Natalie Portman plays Nina, a veteran ballerina who, despite being young enough to still live with her mother (and, it’s hinted, to still be a virgin), is also approaching the age when she’ll be considered too old to ever be a prima ballerina. She is a member of a struggling New York dance company that is run by Thomas (Vincent Cassel, turning up the sleaze level to 11). Thomas has decided that the company’s next show will be Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and that it’s time to replace the company’s prima ballerina, Beth (played by Winona Ryder), with a younger dancer. Nina begs for the chance to be Beth’s replacement but Thomas rejects her, claiming that her dancing is technically perfect but has no passion. He then attempts to kiss her which leads to Beth biting his lip and, apparently, convincing him that she has passion after all. Thomas soon announces that Nina will dance the lead in Swan Lake.
Unfortunately, even before winning the role, Nina is obviously unstable. Whether she’s obsessively stretching in her hideously pink bedroom, forcing herself to vomit up the contents of her stomach, or seeing shadows down every corridor, Nina’s every action and thought seems to be obsessed with finding the idealized perfection that ballet demands and life seldom affords. No matter how much she and her controlling mother (Barbara Hershey) cut her nails, she still wakes up with mysterious scratch marks across her back. Even worse, as she gets deeper and deeper into the role, she finds herself strangely drawn to and fearful of Lilly (Mila Kunis), a younger, free-spirited dancer who may, or may not, have her eye on taking Nina’s place.
Along with being an homage to such classic films as Repulsion, Suspiria, and All About Eve, Black Swan is also a modern-day reinterpretation of Swan Lake. Swan Lake tells the story of Odette, a princess who has been cursed by an evil sorcerer. As a result of the curse, Odette is only allowed her human form at night. During the day, she exists only in the form of a white swan. A prince named Siegfried meets Odette in her human form and falls in love with her so Rothbart tricks the prince by transforming his own daughter, Odile, into the Black Swan, a seductress who looks just like Odette except she wears black. One reason why the lead role in Swan Lake is so coveted is because the same ballerina plays both the innocent and fragile White Swan and the seductive and uninhibited Black Swan. As such, the two roles are presented as opposite sides of the same coin. (I’ve always thought of the White Swan as representing what men idolize and the black swan representing what men actually desire.) The challenge is to be convincing in both roles while still perfectly executing the idealized movements of ballet.
Over the course of Black Swan, Nina is continually told (by Thomas) that she is perfect for the role of the innocent and sheltered White Swan but that she doesn’t have what it takes to be the sexy and uninhibited Black Swan. At one point, Thomas gives her a homework assignment for the role, ordering her to go home and touch herself. (Nina eventually does so just to suddenly realize, right when she’s on the verge of bringing herself to climax, that her mother is sleeping in the exact same room. This sudden shot of Barbara Hershey sleeping in that chair both made me jump and laugh at the same time.)
Thomas also suggests that Nina study that way that Lilly dances. In many ways, Lilly appears to be the exact opposite of Nina. (Though wisely, Aronofsky emphasizes how much Portman and Kunis — not to mention Ryder and Hershey — all resemble each other physically, therefore creating the feeling that we’re seeing four different versions of the same basic human being.) Whereas Nina’s every dance move appears to be the product of rigorous training, Lilly dancing follows her emotions. While Nina’s expression while dancing is always one of a grimly obsessive dedication, Lilly smiles and enjoys the moment. Whereas Nina is scared of sex and can barely bring herself to look a man in the eye, Lilly is openly flirtatious with both men and women. In short, Lilly is Nina’s Black Swan.
Even as Nina studies Lilly, Lilly starts to pursue Nina, even showing up at her apartment and inviting Nina out for a night on the town. Desperate to escape her controlling mother (whose goal seems to be to keep Nina as the innocent White Swan for the rest of her life), Nina goes out with Lilly. They hit the clubs, Lilly convinces Nina to drink a spiked drink, and soon Nina is making out with random men in corners and eventually with Lilly in a taxi cab.
Now, I know this is something that a lot of people are wondering about so I’ll just confirm it. Yes, Mila Kunis does go down on Natalie Portman in this film. And yes, it’s hot. But even more importantly, it works as something more than just a juvenile male fantasy of what we girls do when you guys aren’t around. When Nina touches Lilly, she is reaching out for and accepting the side of her personality that she’s previously tried to deny. She’s accepting what she knows could destroy her.
(SPOILERS BELOW READ CAREFULLY)
And sure enough, after her encounter with Lilly (which Lilly subsequently claims never happened), Nina’s world grows more and more distorted. She looks at the paintings that line her mother’s room and she sees a hundred faces laughing at her. On the subway, men leer at her. And suddenly, Thomas seems to be paying more attention to Lilly (who is named as her alternate) than to her. Lilly visits Beth in the hospital where Beth is recovering from a car accident. Beth responds to Lilly’s presence by mutilating herself with a fingernail file. And so things go until the film reaches its climax in a dizzying mix of dance and blood.
Much like ballet itself, Black Swan presents a very stylized view of existence and, in order for the film to work, the performances have to be perfect. I’m happy to say that everything you’ve heard about Natalie Portman in this film is correct. She gives a brilliant performance. The film doesn’t provide a definite explanation as to what lies at the root of Nina’s mental instability but the clues are all there in Portman’s subtle but effective performance. Perhaps even more importantly, Portman is convincing in the ballet sequences. She captures perfectly the rigorous and often times painful dedication that ballet demands. In the movie’s finale, as she dances on stage while her fragile world collapse around her, she was suddenly creating my own fantasy of what it would be like to be a true prima ballerina. Watching her, I felt her every move as if I was on the stage dancing the role. It left me exhausted and breathless and I have to admit that after the movie, I foundd myself crying for a solid hour as I realized that would truly be as close as I would ever get to living my old teenage fantasy.
Portman pretty much dominates the entire film but still leaves room for Hershey, Cassell, and especially Mila Kunis to give impressive performances. Alternatively loving and spiteful, Hershey is the stage mother from Hell. Cassell’s character is almost too sleazy for his own good but Cassell still has fun with the role and even adds a few notes of ambiguity. However, Mila Kunis is the true standout among the supporting players. Playing a role that requires her to be both likable and vaguely threatening, Kunis holds her own with Portman and proves here that she actually can act. Her character also provides the film with a few much-needed moments of humor. Lilly gets all the best one-liners and Kunis delivers them flawlessly.
So, I’m sure many people might be saying at this point, “That’s great that you loved it, Lisa Marie. But you’re like all convinced that this film is actually about you. What about us normal people who don’t really care about ballet? Is there anything here for us?”
That’s not an easy question for me to answer precisely because I do love ballet and I did relate a lot of this film to experiences — both good and bad — from my own life. It’s also an issue that Aronofsky acknowledges in a rather clever scene where Nina and Lilly flirt with two frat boy types who react to Nina’s talk of ballet with boredom. However, I do think that this film can be seen and appreciated by those who aren’t into ballet for the exact same reason why I loved The Wrestler despite being interested in professional wrestling like not at all.
I’ve always felt that ballet — and by that, I mean the whole experience of both the dancing and all the stuff that goes on before and after the actual dance — was in many ways the perfect metaphor for life.
For instance, in my experience, there were always two separate cliques in any dance school or company.
There was the group of dancers who had spent their entire lives preparing for the one moment they would become a prima ballerina. These were the girls who spent hours obsessing over their technique and who minutely examined every performance for the least little flaw. These were the girls who risked their health to maintain perfect dancer bodies. They obsessed over everything they ate, which struck me as strange since they usually just threw it all back up a few minutes later anyway. They had parents who not only spent the money to make them the best but who, unlike the rest of us, actually had the money to spend in the first place. These were the girls who knew every move they were supposed to make but they never knew why.
And then, there was the group that I was always a part of. We were the girls who never worried about perfect technique. We would laugh when we missed a step and we joked about our mistakes. When we danced, we followed our emotions and if that meant breaking a rule, so be it. The perfect girls hated us because, for the most part, we were more popular than they were because we allowed ourselves to be real as opposed to perfect. And we hated the perfect girls because we knew that they would eventually have the life that we fantasized about.
I used to think that was unique to ballet and certainly, in Black Swan, it’s clear that Portman would be one of the perfect girls and Kunis would be one of us. However, once my life was no longer solely about ballet, I realized that everyone was either a part of the perfect group or a part of the real group. It wasn’t just ballet. It was life, the conflict between those who try to create an idealized fantasy and those who simply take advantage of the randomness of everyday life. And, when I watched Black Swan, it was obvious that Aronofsky recognizes this as well.
Ballet is all about creating perfection, of telling a story through exactly choreographed movements. As the film progresses, it become obvious that the root of Nina’s psychosis is that the reality has not lived up to her idealized worldview. Nina hides from the real world because the real world, unlike ballet, is not messy. Movement in ballet is controlled but movement in reality is random and often frightening. However, by submerging her identity into ballet, Nina has fallen into another trap because, as a prima ballerina, her every movement has to be perfect. There’s no room for error. There’s no room for her to break free of Thomas’s choreography. Her every move has been dictated for her and not a single mistake can be tolerated.
And I guess that’s truly why this film got to me because who hasn’t felt like that? Who hasn’t felt as if the world is watching and waiting to pounce on you for failing to live up to their ideal? While I’m not suggesting that men don’t face unique pressures of their own, this theme especially hit home for me as a woman. Everyday, I wake up knowing that I’m being expected to live up to some sort of societal concept of perfection that was set up long before I was born by people I’ll never actually meet. Every day, I wake up knowing that I’m always look my best without flaunting it in a way that would suggest that I know I look my best, to find a husband and devote my life to the agonizing pain of childbirth, to suffer my period in respectful silence, to always be weak when I want to be strong, and certainly to never, ever view sex as anything other than a duty. It’s the type of expectation that leads every woman to consider embracing her own black swan. Some of us are brave enough to do it. And others, scared of being rejected as imperfect, simply try to pretend that they never saw it in the first place.
For me, that’s what Black Swan is truly about. It’s not about ballet and it’s not about Mila Kunis bringing Natalie Portman to orgasm. It’s about finding the courage to live life regardless of how scary it might be. Much as Aronofsky used pro wrestling to tell the story of everyone who ever refused to be anonymous and forgotten, Black Swan is the story of every one who ever struggled to reconcile the demands of society with the realities of existence.
Since this is an Aronofsky film, viewers will either love it or hate it. As exhilarating as I found that film’s finale to be, I can already hear other viewers saying, “What!?” As a director, Aronofsky has always been willing to walk that thin line between art and excess and you’re reaction to him will probably depend a lot on where you personally draw that line. Throughout the film, Aronofsky comes close to going over the top. However, he also directs the film in such a way as to make it clear that we’re not meant to be watching an exact recreation of reality. Instead, we view most of the film’s events through the prism of Nina’s own unstable mind and both the film’s grainy cinematography and the deliberately odd camera angles perfectly capture the feel of a mind losing its grip on reality.
Again, I should admit that I’m bipolar and, as such, I reacted very sympathetically to Nina’s struggle to distinguish the real world from the world created by her own paranoid fears because I recognized much of it from my last major manic episode. Now, would I have had a different reaction if not for my own personal experiences? The honest answer is that I don’t know. All I know is that Darren Aronofsky gets it right.
The film’s ending will surely be the root of not a little controversy. (Again: MAJOR SPOILER WARNING) Much like the end of the The Wrestler we’re left to wonder whether our main character has truly triumphed or if she’s been defeated. Is Aronofsky celebrating self-destruction or is he celebrating the individualistic impulse that leads people to pursue their passions no matter what the end result? Has Nina found true perfection and freedom or has she been destroyed by her own demons?
Aronofsky leaves it up to the viewer to decide and a lot of people won’t like that.
However, for me, Black Swan is the best film of 2010.
So, I’m currently still working on my review of Black Swan, which I saw this weekend and loved so much that I ended up having an asthma attack at the end of it. But anyway, as we wait for me to discover articulation, why not check out 6 more of my favorite grindhouse and exploitation film trailers?
Now, this is an interesting debut film from the prolific Canadian director Bob Clark (the man who later gave the world both Black Christmas and A Christmas Story). A young soldier is killed in Viet Nam and shows up back in his hometown one night later without a soul. The allegory is pretty obvious but it’s still effectively done and crawls under your skin. This film was also one of Tom Savini’s early films. The soldier’s father is played by John Marley who later appeared in The Godfather with a horse’s head in his bed.
Director Lucio Fulci made this film around the same time he was making his more famous zombie films but it never got the same attention, despite starring David Warbeck. I love the cat — he’s so cute and he reminds me of my own cat. Plus, he’s quite effective at killing people.
Apparently, this is a nunsploitation film from Japan! That nunsploitation was a very popular genre in Italy, Spain, and Ireland makes sense when you consider that those are three of the most Catholic countries on the planet. But Japan?
The trailer for the 1971 Italian lesbian vampire film goes on for a bit too long but I think it has nice atmospheric feel to it (the same can be said of the film itself).
Since we started with a zombie film, let’s end with one as well. The Dead Pit is pretty silly but I enjoyed it and would happily star in a remake. Plus, the trailer’s line about “the thickness of the door” just amuses me on so many levels.
It’s December and that means that it’s the Christmas season and that can only mean an abundance of Christmas movies both at movie theaters and on television. This Christmas movie has even become a genre in a way that the Thanksgiving movie or the Bank Holiday movie never has.
I love the Christmas season because 1) it’s one of the few times that there’s half a chance of seeing snow in Texas, 2) it gives me an excuse to bond with family, and 3) I get lots of presents. And I enjoy Christmas movies so much that I can pretty much quote every line from It’s A Wonderful Life from memory. I’ve even been known to enjoy the holiday movie marathons that pop up on the Lifetime Movie Network (especially if they feature Jeff Fahey and his bluer than blue eyes). However, my favorite Christmas movie remains the original Miracle on 34th Street because Natalie Wood was one of my mom’s favorite actresses and Miracle was one of her favorite films.
However, in this post, I want to highlight 10 movies that have either been overlooked in the past or else films that, while properly acknowledged as classics, are rarely mentioned as being Christmas films.
1) In Bruges (2008) — Two Irish hitman (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, both wonderful) hide out in Belgium during the Christmas holiday. I love this film for so many reason but I have to specifically mention the performance of Ralph Fiennes, who plays an English crime boss with a foul mouth, a murderous personality, and a firmly held set of ethics.
2) Brazil (1985) — One reason why I love Terry Gilliam’s dark satire is because I actually have quite a bit in common with it. We’re both often misunderstood, we’re both pretty to look at, and we were both released in 1985. While Brazil is now often acknowledged as one of the best and most imaginative films of the last century, it’s often forgotten that all of this film’s action takes place over the Christmas season. If you’ve never seen Brazil, see it now. But be aware that you’ll never look at Michael Palin quite the same way again.
3) Three Days of The Condor (1975) — This espionage thriller (which stars a young, pre-Leatherface Robert Redford) skillfully contrasts cold-blooded violence with the bright outer happiness of the Christmas season.
4) Eyes Wide Shut (2000) — Stanley Kubrick’s final film is a tribute to MK-Ultra conspiracy theories and features rich people trying to be kinky during the Christmas season. Nicole Kidman does redheads proud with her performance here and we get to see Tom Cruise smoke pot.
5) P2(2007) — Rachel Nichols is trapped in a parking garage on Christmas Eve by a very scary Wes Bentley. I have to admit that I’ve always had a morbid fear of either dying, getting seriously injured, or disappearing on Christmas Eve and therefore ruining the holiday for my family. I guess that’s why P2 resonated with me.
6) Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974) — No, this is not a killer Santa film. This is the film where a bunch of former Warhol superstars (Ondine and Candy Darling being the most prominent) play a bunch of mental patients who massacre their doctors in a disturbing, sepia-toned sequence. Years later, on Christmas, another former Warhol superstar — the wonderful Mary Woronov — comes to investigate. This is actually a fairly good film from director Theodore Gershuny.
7) Christmas Evil (1980) — Now this is a killer Santa film. Harry is a loser who works in a toy factory but he’s obsessed with Christmas because, when he was a child, he saw mommy humping Santa Claus. (Isn’t that a song?) So, one Christmas, Harry dresses up like Santa and goes around killing neglectful parents and others who don’t have the Christmas spirit. This is an oddly sweet film with an ending that brought very sincere tears to my eyes.
8 ) To All A Good Night (1980) — Okay, this is another killer Santa film and it’s one of those early ’80s slashers where everyone dies because they’re total and complete idiots but two things distinguish this film from other Killer Santa slasher films: 1) it features not one but two psycho Santas and the movie was directed by David Hess, star of Last House On The Left and The House On The Edge of the Park.
9) The Silent Partner (1978) — However, the greatest of all killer Santas is to be found in this Canadian crime thriller. Christopher Plummer plays a psycho bank robber who — disguised as Santa — robs a bank. Elliot Gould plays a lonely bank clerk who uses the robbery as an excuse to steal some cash for himself which leads to Plummer eventually coming after him. Plummer makes the scariest Saint Nick ever!
10) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) — This is pure grindhouse brilliance, a dark comedy and a metafictional satire disguised an action movie. Robert Downey, Jr. is a small-time criminal who accidentally becomes a film star and ends up investigating a murder with a hard-boiled PI (a surprisingly self-aware performance from Val Kilmer). And it all takes place during the holidays.
