After Venice and just before London film festivals, here is a look at the cream of the crop of American films on offer...
BLACK SWAN
A ballet film by Darren Aronofsky with Natalie Portman where she basically turns into a red-eyed black swan? This is one freakshow I have to see.
You might think “Oh god, another The Company (2003)?” But coming from Aronofsky, it could go either way. It could be his pièce de résistance. Or pseudo-blubber.
The trailer is an emotional thrill-ride. The build-up is note perfect. Slowly but surely you dive into an intense, wondrous mapping of a person’s psyche and reactions under pressure. The simple introduction to the main character comes in the form of her dancing underneath a single spotlight, to the sound of her narrating her own metaphorical (or is it?) destiny. The eerie music enters almost immediately to fine-tune the progress of the trailer. It has laid the ground for the course of action to feel natural (even though of course it is not) and help the audience relate to the paranoia that consumes Portman’s character.
For the trailer to end on an image of a red-eyed Portman removing a feather out of her back and gasping as if she had discovered her first grey hair, leaves the viewer with the sense that you want to see more of this metamorphosis – but not necessarily the ending.
I personally don’t care how it ends. I might dare say it could be a bit predictable. I am more intrigued to know how the dancer goes through the stages of transformation and how her environment contributes to that in order to understand her psyche.
Now, I am one of the few I know who fell for and enjoyed the artsy fartsiness of The Fountain (2007), which Black Swan (2010) looks most like out of all Aronofsky’s films. I think it’s well-made and there’s meat on the bone to pick at. I can definitely see, however, what would push someone to think otherwise and it is justified. It’s trying too hard, it’s immature, it’s confusing, and so on. Black Swan is running the risk of promising too much, only to fall flat like The Fountain.
One thing I do have doubts about is the casting of Mila Kunis. To me, she is Meg from Family Guy and Jackie from That 70’s Show. Not the best actress, nor the most interesting choice. But it’s definitely a different one. She might not be able to step out of her comedy roles and firmly grasp this opportunity at genuine acting, which could break the film.
A ballet movie about a dancer’s issues. Chick flick of the year?
SOMEWHERE
There isn’t that much to say about Somewhere (2010), is there? I mean, it’s pretty obvious where it’s going to go. Just watch Lost In Translation (2003) enough times and replace the actors of that film with Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning. Boom – new movie.
This is the problem of Somewhere. It’s traced copy of a plot that worked well X amount of years ago.
I don’t want to be misunderstood. I am a huge Sofia Coppola fan and I cannot wait for this movie to be released in the UK. But I fear the critics’ slaughter. I fear my film and TV colleagues, saying that this could be the most unoriginal film of the year. Or anything equally drastic and irrational.
The plot revolves around a tired actor whose estranged tween daughter is dumped on him for a short while.
The soundtrack is typical indie movie and not only does it cheapen the movie in all its predictability, it slows it down to a boring pace where we are lulled to sleep instead of being captivated. Must Coppola insist on using the same kind of monotone music in every film? There being so many long, drawn-out shots (especially the first one following Dorff like some groupie) don’t make it any more compelling.
The point where the trailer really becomes worthwhile and original is when Fanning and Dorff enter a car, both wearing sunglasses in holy silence, as if having entered a house of God. Little Elle Fanning suddenly looks (and transforms) into Manager and Mummy Elle. This is further emphasised when she cooks for him and generally acts like a companion more than a daughter throughout the rest of the trailer. Her emotional maturity does not parallel her physical one as her appearance is still child-like. Even in an evening gown, she looks too young to assume the role she is given. You are constantly reminded of her as a minor, but she is wise beyond her years.
And Dorff’s character’s need for someone like her is so exposed to the viewer (but hidden from everyone else – cf. Dorff dressed in a mask or confined to his bedroom and bored by strippers and co-stars) that he is roaring for someone to help him. Whether she does this or not we will only know by watching the film.
Somewhere = Together?
127 HOURS
James Franco’s potential has never really been explored to the fullest (perhaps in Milk (2008) but that’s debatable) and with movies like Howl (2010) and 127 Hours (2010), I think anyone in doubt will be in for a surprise.
Simple plot. Franco’s character gets stuck in a canyon gap and spends 127 hours down there. What’s he been doing in all that time, how did he stay sane, did he know help was on the way – all these questions surround and in effect construct the plot and will hopefully be answered in this film.
The trailer is playful and clever. Sometimes. The first 10 seconds are silent. Only the slight breeze travelling through the valley are heard. This is briskly interrupted by Franco catapulting on to screen riding his bike. Just him, alone, through the great, wide, empty, brick-coloured nothingness.
Cut to an out-of-place portfolio of Danny Boyle’s previous works in a “look-at-this-awesome-director-he’s-so-cool-and-succesful-you’ve-probably-seen-all-his-movies-without-knowing-it-was-him-so-why-not-watch-this-one-too-because-if-you-don’t-you’ll-be-sorry-and-a-loser” kind of fashion. Who the fuck (pardonnez-moi mon français, as they say) gives a rat’s ass? I am being completely pulled out of an entertaining trailer and a brilliant mood for petty promotion. It is completely unnecessary and merely a filler in a trailer that would have been just as good if you hadn’t had that mishmash in there.
Another thing I could have done without is the tiny sequence of Franco partying with random chicks. It may very well contribute some additional information about him, but really, it is just wasting my time. The rest of the trailer focuses so much on the present moment of when the accident happens that flashbacks and the director’s C.V. are pointless and distracting. Focus, please!
However, the angles and (super) wide shots in the empty canyon are bedazzling. In combination with the plot, it leaves you on the last scene (where Franco finally falls into the gap the plot centres around) on a not very original but deeply genuinely feeling of wanting to know what will happen next during the 127 hours.
The best bit is the powerful tagline (although, perhaps a bit obvious): Every Second Counts.
Louise-Afzal Faerkel
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