5 months late. But as the saying goes, it is better late
than never right? –inserts guilty smile-
Warning: Spoilers
ahead
(For the few rare folks who have yet to watch this film,
please do yourself a favor, watch it.)
“Wah, that one horror movie ah?” That was the comment from a
boy seated behind me during the credits roll and probably thought by many
others in the cinema that night. If not for my job, I’d most likely have
thought so as well. Black Swan was certainly not a comedy and even though
strictly speaking it doesn’t belong to the horror category, it definitely
wasn’t an easy movie to watch. I remember wincing and jumping in shock during
certain parts of the movie, especially when we were thrown into the world of
Nina’s hallucinations. It was not a pleasant experience. But, it gave me a look
into a world of someone who is slowly but surely turning psychotic. It scared
me. It made me realize, that even though I may know the textbook meaning of
hallucination, delusions and psychosis, I don’t know what it means to be going
through all of that. When we have meetings discussing the different symptoms, sometimes I try to imagine what it is like but watching Black Swan, I realize how far off I
am.
Granted, it might have been a tad dramatized and exaggerated
because it is still after all a movie but according to my senior colleague,
minus all the sound effects, it was close enough.
Taking Nina’s own quest for perfection coupled with an
unrelenting teacher who knows how best to manipulate his dancers and a ex-ballerina mother who craves to attain success
through Nina, you have the perfect potion for trouble. As Nina tries harder and
harder to embody both Odette and Odile, the faster and faster her life spirals
out of control. Soon, the lines between reality and distortion begin to blur.
The director did a pretty good job showing Nina’s psychological deterioration
as the date of the performance draws closer as well as her hesitation to let
loose at the start to the end when even the audience begins to fear for her
safety.
It was like watching a roller coaster ride with no brakes. A
truly brilliant movie but sometimes I wonder which would be better though. To go down
Nina’s self-destructive path, breaking all her own barriers, losing all
control, for that one moment of perfection or to continue being the safe
Odette.
Which is your choice?