Where I finally write about “Black Swan”

I was super anticipating this movie.  I really dig ballet.  I love watching it, I apparently love dancing it (even though it feels like torture), and I love books and movies about ballet.  I’ll sit through some crappy “Center Stage: To the Streets: IV” because it supposedly has ballet in it.  I was really excited to see the movie.  And man, was I disappointed.  Having seen a bunch of Center Stage, Turning Point ballet movies, this was just a horror mashup of ballet stereotypes.  Nothing rang true except maybe the costume design.  I couldn’t really enjoy the dancing because I was terrified the whole time.  Why was I terrified? Because the constant scary music was telling me to be, and I am so conditioned by scary music that I just freak out. 

I need to watch the movie again, but I really don’t recall much actual dancing.  I saw some toes here, some flapping arms there.   Oddly, I don’t think the director was really interested in Ballet.  Ballerinas, yes, not ballet.  If he had I think it would have been a more nuanced film. 

I’m finally writing about Black Swan because of the recent controversy involving her dance double, Sarah Lane, who was shafted proper credit.  I don’t doubt that the illusion of Natalie becoming a ballerina was behind her oscar win.  I found her performance of Nina underwhelming.  But this is where I have some inside knowledge most people don’t have;

Easy ballet is fucking hard. 

Natalie and Mila would’ve had to work their asses off to do the simplest things;  and its very impressive that they were able to go on pointe.  I don’t doubt that they worked very hard, but the script still sucked and the acting was mediocre.