BLACK SWAN (2010) - 5 STARS

"I had the craziest dream last night"

The art of ballet has never been my strong point with cultural entertainment but it certainly does transcend well to the screen with Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller Black Swan which not only mystifies those who watch it, but even leave us terrified of hurting our own skin when it comes to the way it's shown before us. Having made a clinical yet bleak film a couple of years back with The Wrestler (2008), Aronofsky presents us with an enthralling thrill-ride which fully deserved award success recently, with the film lead by a raw, energetic performance by Natalie Portman who is supported well by her co-stars, and superbly shocking us with what her character goes through, and all in the name of art. The art itself is truly worthy and even with the sight of Swan Lake playing throughout the story, it doesn't have any chance of overshadowing the dark, surreal nature of the film's vision....a haunting experience.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) has made it her lifelong ambition to reach the top of the ballet world, training hard to gain her dream of becoming a ballerina. Her optimistic mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) believes her daughter is surely capable of being picked for the upcoming ballet season, and that gives Nina the confidence that this could be her chance at last. At the New York Ballet School, her sleazy tutor Leroy (Vincent Cassel) reveals that the production she and her fellow ballerinas will be working on is Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, for which the twist of the play is that one ballerina will play both the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina tries to prove to Leroy that she is capable of taking on both roles but he fears that she is too vulnerable and frigid to play the Black Swan leaving her feeling dejected. However his sexual persistence allows her to react to it reluctantly and he gives her the role knowing she is able to release herself more. While Nina is ecstatic about getting the role, she soon realises that things are starting to happen to her that are possibly occurring because of the ambition to perform well. This is proven by hallucinating about her skin where cuts and marks start appearing causing concern from her mother but Nina knows that she wants to work hard to impress both her mum and Leroy. Things are then further complicated by the involvement of another young attractive ballerina named Lily (Mila Kunis) who starts triggering paranoiac nerves from Nina who fears that Lily is trying to take the role from her. This whole psychological presence threatens to take over Nina and the film's journey places her in dark places for which she must try and stop otherwise it could destroy her....

Aronofsky has certainly continued his artistic catalogue of films which started with Requiem For A Dream (2000) and yet again has made another riveting, modern masterpiece. He captures everything beautifully in frame, his movement of the camera is almost as fluent and beautiful as the very dancers on the screen. And his use of lighting is nothing short of extraordinary adding to the innocent colour used when Nina is in her normal world and dark lighting when going through her crazy mind with what she thinks she sees. Though I stated before about this film being completely different to his previous film The Wrestler, the lead roles share in common that the main character become dedicated to an unappreciated form of physical art that ultimately destroys them both. The final line in the film for those who watch it, sums it up with a narrative that shocks but amazes us with its dark-themed beauty, leaving us in awe of the way it's made whether it be the dancing or the hallucinating, the latter especially shocks many to the core. The body horror in this really does make people squirm and though that talked about scene in 127 Hours (2010) is more realistic with its focus on psychical operating, there are moments in Black Swan that are just as cringe-worthy whether it be the pulling of cuticles or broken nails, it's a messed up experience that is brutally and bloody well done. Though this may put Academy voters off giving the film recognition for Best Picture, lead star Natalie Portman is simply outstanding and the Oscar really does belong to her. She displayed her transformation from the sweet girl to the psychologically obsessed, driving her towards insanity in her ambition for perfection. Her supporting cast members are just as good, particularly Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey, both sadly ignored by the Academy. Kunis, best known as the voice of Meg in Family Girl, really has grabbed her opportunity to make it in serious roles in Hollywood with a sexy, witty role for which she gets the best lines and does well alongside Portman. Hershey on the other hand, gives a compulsive and controlling performance for which she steals several scenes, while trying to show dominance over her 'sweet little' girl. Cassel plays Leroy very smug and slimy but also proves his authority with Nina by trying to get the best out of her from her dancing to the sexual drive he wants. A note of respect also deserves to go to Winona Ryder for her brief appearance as retiring ballerina Beth, who displays a bitter anger about her days being numbered, familiar to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd (1950), though one can't help but feel that if Black Swan was made 10 years ago, the Nina role would easily had been hers.

 

Black Swan definitely controls us with its haunting beauty but there's a certain type of audience who may be taken in by it, but youngsters and old people will not. Though it's been advertised as a thriller, it really is too arty for that, and with the exception of the body horror, it may not keep young audiences especially entertained. One flaw of the body horror is proven by the fate of Ryder's character which looks bizarre and over-the-top but shocks us anyway. As for the elderly audiences, there is a feeling that the much talked-about sex scene between Portman and Kunis could appall them, though many who enjoy the film will welcome its gratuitous shots throughout. More importantly, those who've watched these types of psychological films could probably guess the twists coming especially in the final ten minutes though from my perspective, it was a memorable climax. To sum up, it's a testimony to the terrible sacrifices many artists make, just to entertain us. It's a harrowing tale about seeking perfection and how sometimes it backfires, leading to terrible consequences.

THE KING'S SPEECH (2010) - 5 STARS

"When God couldn't save The King, The Queen turned to someone who could"

Every year there always seems to be one great British film that comes out and truly dominates and entertains us. This year has been no exception thanks to the fantastic line-up of films nominated for British Film at the upcoming BAFTA awards. The one big film though that leads the pack is historical drama The King's Speech which introduced me to the courageous story of a royal monarch frightened of his own destiny of becoming future king and relying on the support of those close to him. This story however not only deals with the monarch's destiny but mostly focuses on his bid to overcome a crippling stammer which required his patience and the firm help of his family to gain confidence as the future king of England. Like previous uplifting British films such as Chariots of Fire (1981), The Full Monty (1997) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), this latest piece of marvelous British film-making allows us to sympathise with the leading characters and let us cheer spontaneously as proven by the mass elderly audience who watched it with me, enchanted by the light-hearted yet inspiring story told before them.

The opening scene introduces us to the Duke Of York (Colin Firth) who fails to give a speech on the radio because of his life-long stutter. Years later, after trying and failing with different doctors to help him, the Duke (titled as George VI) refuses anymore help, yet his supportive wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) continues to seek outside help and gets it from experienced Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). It proves to be a long winding process as George shows reluctance in getting help from Logue but over the course of the film, they become closer as men and understand what the other goes through. Soon George gains the confidence to start speaking more clearly at public speeches but his royal destiny becomes a burden for him firstly with the death of his father (Michael Gambon) and then his brother Edward (Guy Pearce) taking over as king only to resign from the role because of his ambition to marry a divorced American woman. This leaves George with the added pressure of being named as King of England despite not having fully overcome his speech impediment but the courageous support of Logue and Elizabeth leaves us wondering if he'll pull through and prepare his country for dark times ahead.

Feel-good is one of many words to describe this special film which continues to allow British films to be made with such a credited set-up whether it be through the writing, the directing, the acting or the production design. But it certainly has all that, and pulls it off wonderfully well through its clever combination of comedy and drama. As a narrative it lets us take a look at a well-known royal family and gives a rare glimpse into the lives of people we wouldn't otherwise observe up close, we are more sympathetic of this royal family then we were with the one in The Queen (2006). Little known director Tom Hooper escalaltes his reputation as a rising director with ambition thanks to another fine piece of film art. Having directed the solid The Damned United last year, he again continues to focus his film on history this time going a few more years back and working with some fine actors who are on the top of their game here. Firth as the struggling monarch has played underdog men before, but his performance is distinguished through his extraordinary physical constraints. His stammering alone is heartbreaking to watch and listen to. Yet the way Firth struggles with his own body, trying to wrench the words out from his lungs, is what makes his work truly powerful and surely is set to land him this year's Best Actor Oscar. Rush though is equally as good giving great support to Firth as the sarcastic but determined therapist adding wry humour and pushiness during his duo scenes with the other. Bonham-Carter shines too with a sweet and loyal performance that is less loud or energetic as her roles in Harry Potter and Alice In Wonderland. The rest of the supporting cast do an impressive job too with Guy Pearce giving a small but effective performance as George's selfish brother Edward with Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon and Derek Jacobi involved too. One other important element that adds to the beauty of the film is Alexandre Desplat's delicate score, which combines his own compositions with fantastic pieces of classical music that really work well to enhance the emotions of the story.

Criticism is hard to come by with this film though the fact it is shot like a television movie adds to that factor which cases to wonder whether it suits being on the small screen or not. It also tends to drag but that shouldn't put people off watching it though the sad reality is it only appeals to a more elderly audience as proven at the cinema I watched it at. Summing it up though, the human aspect of the film makes us realise how important it was through the emergence of a deep friendship out of a professional relationship between two men who would otherwise never have socially interacted. The entire movie is a perfect blend of history, personal and family unity drama, with broader themes of defiance and overcoming struggle which give it a timeless appreciation that should become beloved for years to come. Long live the king!

127 HOURS (2010) - 4 STARS

"Every Second Counts"

Slowly but surely Danny Boyle is achieving greatness as a director and after the success of Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, he has created another fine film, adapted from a story of courage and sacrifice that would affect the hero of the hour for the rest of his current life. The tagline itself provides the basis of what we're about to go through with the lead character as he finds himself in a perilous situation that most others could never get out of. But as we see with this conquest, it leads to a moment of precise thinking that has already left many audiences reaching for the sick bucket.

The year is 2003 and adventurous rock-climber Aaron Ralston (James Franco) finds himself canyoneering around the rocky landscape of Utah providing his daredevil skills by trying to impress two young women (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn) who are also in the area. From riding his bike manically to sliding through passage ways, it is clear what Aaron is doing, that is until he attempts to climb over a small boulder stuck between a gauge leading to him falling through the gauge and pinning his right arm against the rock that falls with him. It is from then on, that Aaron faces a hectic and claustrophobic period of the film thinking of ways to escape from the situation but the rock has all but kept him in the passage. Over the next 127 hours (5 or so days), he tries to keep himself alive by drinking from his bottle of water but starts to suffer from hallucinations that affect him mentally. It is through that which makes him reveal via his hand held camera, his regret of certain moments in his life that have left him guilty for ignoring other people including his family and now makes it his ambition to free himself from his predicament. This leads to a sacrifice that would prove affecting towards Aaron and ensure he would remember the situation for the rest of his life........

It is official that Boyle has once again made a phenomenal film that again allows the audience to really be plunged into a deep togetherness with Ralston. A unique tactic in the film is of flashbacks which has been one of Boyle's trademarks in his films like Slumdog and Trainspotting (1996). Ralston spends a lot of time thinking about what brought him to this life changing moment, and it is rather interesting how Boyle handles these thoughts. They are placed there to pinpoint our view of Ralston's life, but they never seem to overtake the bigger picture of being pinned by the rock. With his association with the likes of his colleague at work or the two girls, they are part of the film's few scenes of character interaction, and help us get used to Ralston's mind. His hallucinations are done in very much the same way, but do not work nearly as great as these off-the-wall scenes do (the Scooby Doo hallucination in particular is very random). That is all captured by the immaculate cinematography which tackles every possible angle, often bringing the audience uncomfortably close to the action. Mostly though it is essentially the James Franco show. After we rarely get much focus on him in the beginning, we eventually do after he falls and then it becomes a deeply focused and claustrophobic character piece driven by his facial movements and reactions. The camera gets right in his face and shows us the gritty reality of his predicament, and Franco is a revelation with his portrayal. You will be unable to take your eyes off this riveting performance and it seems a bit unfortunate that he is competing for awards attention against another flawless display from Colin Firth in another 2010 release The King's Speech. And yes Boyle's trademark contributes to the grimness of the film with the talked about scene towards the film's climax which left many including myself feeling ill (though mesmerized by how gruesome yet realistic it was) but it adds to the crucial point of what Ralston went through in order to try and survive.

Ultimately there are a couple of significant faults of the film that only make it at least reach the 80-90% margin of its rating. As this is essentially the James Franco show, the rest of the cast are rarely used and the box-office may suffer a bit due to the lack of other big names involved aside from Clemence Posey from the Harry Potter films though she only appears briefly as Ralton's estranged girlfriend. That can't take away the sensation of Franco's performance though there are many which will also try to compare the film to other survival flicks including Cast Away (2000) and Into The Wild (2007), which both at least were longer and more significant to the other character's back stories. Even for a film that lasts an hour and a half, there will be some that may be bored by the experience and maybe not be as comfortable to side with Ralton's predicament. However this is an experience that most people can and should integrate with, it's a story of survival which should be watched by more audiences even if it does involve gore or focus on one person. The climax especially goes through the emotions which are felt that signify triumph and the power of the human spirit, another success story for Mr Boyle definitely!

THE WAY BACK (2010) - 4 STARS

"Their escape was just the beginning"

Seven years since directing the Oscar winning adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Peter Weir makes his long awaited comeback to film-making with another adventure film The Way Back, that again proves to be blazing and epic as you could expect from a man like Weir. His films have never always endeared to me though Witness (1985) was an enjoyable experience. However his newest film stretches the production to an all-time high with this fascinating story adapted from The Long Walk.

Based on a true story, we are taken to the cold environment of Siberia in 1940 where Polish rebel Janusz (Jim Sturgess) is imprisoned for bad-mouthing Russian leader Joseph Stalin. He is sent to one of the toughest settlements in the world in Siberia where he tries to survive amongst other men of different nationalities who have also been punished. However he seeks to escape from the place to be reunited with his wife and ends up hatching a plan with other men including American veteran Mr Smith (Ed Harris) and notorious murderer Valka (Colin Farrell) to get out. Altogether seven men manage to escape the prison and soon they face the difficult task of trekking from Siberia, on a 4000 mile journey across many mountains and deserts to reach India. Along the way they are joined by a young woman named Irena (Saoirse Ronan) whose family are communists but she soon settles in with the group and becomes friendly with Mr Smith during the journey. However it is the forces of nature which threaten to affect the quest as the group encounter tough conditions as well as avoiding capture from other people, but they continue on leading to the film's satisfying conclusion.

From the film's opening shot, we are made aware of the fate of those involved in the story but the plot allows us to be drawn to a perilous and extraordinary journey that these men went on in order to survive by escaping their prison but then facing the forces of nature whether it be hot or cold. We know there some of the escapees won't make it but it becomes a question of when and how they'll fall which does happen towards the final third of the film. Of course it has you captivated for the entire journey to which you connect with the characters within it, so much so you experience their emotions with them. The variously aged cast does a solid job which allows us to follow their predicament and make us realize what troubles they had to go through. Jim Sturgess continues his prominence as an effective actor playing the troubled leader of the group. Veteran actor Ed Harris adds warmth as the reluctant prisoner who has been through tough times before his involvement in prison and forms a nice partnership with rising actress Saiorse Ronan who continues to develop her CV in film with another strong role. Probably the most surprising positive from the cast is Colin Farrell who adds bark and no-nonsense to his character with a flourishing Russian accent in a performance that is miles better than his recent cockney gangster role in London Boulevard. Also like most Weir films, this particular one is breathtaking as a visual masterpiece with the gorgeous cinematography focusing on Siberia, Mongolia and India. It is all beautifully shot with the setting whether it be in the woods, the mountains or the desert, reminding us of classic epics like Lawrence of Arabia. 

The sloppy aspect of the film mostly comes from the writing in some ways with Sturgess, Harris and Ronan being the only actors whose characters are given a back-story. There is a lack of detail for the lesser known characters, as the other men and the actors who play them aren't given as much focus as the more recognisable names. One major example being British actor Mark Strong who is only involved in the first quarter of the film as a fellow prisoner and becomes underused. The story factor isn't helped either by us knowing the fate of at least three of the survivors at the beginning which does end the film a little predictably but it still makes us gracious of how far they came. It also reminds you in some ways to Edward Zwick's recent war drama Defiance (2008) with how these characters try to survive in tough circumstances but the true story factor proves crucial. It would be nice to think this film does deserve award attention though technical recognition might end up being its only reward which would be a shame for Weir who worked hard to make such a big triumphant story get to the big screen. Nevertheless the political explaining ending really does reflect the real life journey of those men involved and what it did for their politics, for them especially it really must have been the great escape....