In yesterday’s email from Michael Moore about State Theatre news here in Traverse City, Michigan (he helped to found the Traverse City Film Festival and restore our lovely downtown theatre), he mentioned that ‘Black Swan’ wouldn’t be playing at the State, simply because their goal is to play “Just Great Movies,” and that film didn’t make the grade.
I saw ‘Black Swan’ last week, and while I liked the movie, I’m not sure it’s worthy of a Best Picture nomination. But then, I wasn’t keen on last year’s winner, ‘The Hurt Locker’ (I’ve yet to watch the entire film without falling asleep), so what captures the attention of one person might be totally lame to the next.
I will say that Natalie Portman turns in a magnificent performance as Nina Sayers, the perfectionist ballerina who’s driven to succeed, partly because her mom (Barbara Hershey) had to drop out of the dance race when she got pregnant with Nina years earlier.
The movie isn’t so much about the cut-throat ballet industry as it is about one girl’s descent into madness. There’s also some pretty cool and creepy visual effects, which director Darren Aronofsky made the most of. Here’s a great clip about how it all came together.
Did you see and love ‘Black Swan’? Think it’s worthy of a Best Picture Oscar?
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