This afternoon, I went to see Black Swan as part of the 34th Gothenburg International Film Festival. They call it GIFF (like TIFF in T.O.). This film was at a theatre called Draken which is right beside the place where Elizabeth dances. We thought it was an old abandoned space because we've never seen it with the interior lights on. Not so! The theatre itself is a magnificent example of minimalist Scandanavian design with wood panelling that curves at the ceiling to mimic the hull of a ship. Draken's motif is a ship, so I guess that's why. In Sweden, when you go to the movies, the seats are pre-selected like at a hockey game. For the film festival, they aren't - you sit where you like. For the latecomers, it's a bit of a teamsport, finding them an empty seat. A woman with a microphone asks the seated audience to point out empty seats for those without, who then dutifully amble over to fill them. One is supposed to say "Ursekta, men kan jag kommer förbi?" which means 'excuse me can I walk across in front of you', but in what I have come to expect as standard Swedish style, no one says anything - they just go.
I chose to go to this movie because of the hype. I knew it was about ballet and that Natalie Portman was in it and that it was a psychological thriller, but that was about it. I had never seen the Swan Lake ballet. Early on, it is explained that the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake requires the ballerina to dance 2 separate characters - the pure or white swan, and the black swan. The ballet itself is about a girl who turns into a swan (nice little metaphor there), falls in love, has her love stolen by the black swan, then ends her own life when she can't have the one she loves.
Initially, I didn't like the camera work because it was very bouncy like Blair Witch. When the camera was following behind the Nina character as she walked, the camera bounced like it was walking too and that made me dizzy. Effective camera work I guess because the entire film is about being off balance. Lots of interplay between black and white, good and evil, effectively echoed in Nina's clothing. At one point in her decent, she puts a black shirt over her white one, then covers it with a white sweater. Barbara Hershey is very effective as Nina's overly protective / possessive / controlling mother, a former dancer herself. I wondered if the dancer from San Francisco was brought in by Thomas the artistic director for the sole purpose of "helping" Nina let go of her control. I still haven't figured out how much of the film was real as in really happened to Nina, and how much she imagined.
Decent into madness? She gave her life for what she loved. Not a man, but the dance. Aren't we all like that to varying degrees, willing to give our all to something that makes us feel special, empowered, willing to live with the consequences no matter what they are?
Now how mad is that?
I think we don't know the consequences...we just follow the drive we feel, for something that empowers us, yes! If we're lucky, someone notices. In the end, though, we will see the big picture, and understand how far we were from the "Goal". So perhaps it is madness to pursue something without knowing the goal? Or is it madness to do nothing? We never seem to live in a double-entendre! ....
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