Juji's favorite movie of the year...Black Swan

2010 was a year of good movies. I had favorite after favorite. Among the best to me....
-Shutter Island
-Inception
-the Social Network
-127 Hours
-The Fighter (loved it)

Quite the list....but in my opinion, the best of the year (and my favorite) has to be......Black Swan.

I was instantly intrigued by this movie when i saw the previews....it looked dark, dramatic, thrilling, scary....and it was all of those things wrapped up into a beautifully twisted masterpiece. The movie stars Natalie Portman as Nina, an member of a New York Ballet company who is obsessed with being perfect. She has been a supporting dancer for several years, but after the aging star of the company retires, she gets the part of her life: the swan queen in the companies new rendition of "Swan Lake"

To say Nina is socially awkward would be an understatement. Though they never really say, it seems that she has schizophrenia. She constantly see's things, and imagines bizarre images. Her overbearing mother doesn't help her situation much either. She thrives while portraying the perfectness of the white swan, but struggles to dance as the "un-perfect" black swan. The role consumes her every being. She becomes paranoid that another girl is trying to steal her role and fears that she isn't good enough to be the lead dancer. There's so much going on, it's just hard to explain. It all culminates in a thrilling, and i think fitting, ending.

Now, let me say this. I will say, as a disclaimer, I saw this movie 2 times. The first time, i thought I liked it, but it's such a strange, freaky movie at times, I wasn't sure. I thought, "well, i liked it, but i'm not sure why". I was actually kind of let down b/c i had heard so many good things about it. But day after day, I became more obsessed about it. (much like the movie?....freaky) I kept thinking, "Maybe I really did love that movie". So we went again.
The second time, I was able to pay attention to so many things I missed before. It made a TON of more sense and I LOVED it. So honestly, seeing it again made the difference.

There are some people who just won't like this movie. (crazies, as I call them... ha ha) It's definitely not for someone who's just looking for a run of the mill, regular movie. It's artful, entertaining, dark, thought provoking, and strange. I loved it. Natalie Portman is a shoe in for the Best Actress Oscar and the movie has my vote for best picture.

A+