I've heard nothing but great things about this move even though the plot looks quite... I mean.. I know what the plot is about.. vaguely, because everyone seems to be too busy praising Natalie Portman than talking plot... I'm sure she's great though.

So someone please tell me what the fuzz is about. Is it a drama, a thriller... should I bring Kleenex...?

I'm waiting...

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i'm not even sure exactly what to call it. if you've seen anything else by aronofsky ( you'd have something to kind of compare it to, but otherwise i dunno.

it's definitely better to go into it with as little expectations as possible, but i'd say it's half drama, half thriller. it's a lot of both since the general story arc mirrors Swan Lake, but by the end it's really just an amazing psychological thriller. one thing to know though is that it's unbelievably intense once it gets going. my date and i were both sweaty and feeling like we'd been punched in the stomach when the credits rolled, and when my mom saw it she almost left.

i'm not surprised by all the praise portman's getting. she was amazing (no doubt about it) but i think the movie owes just as much if not more to the direction and cinematography.

I know that's pretty much the reactions I've seen and heard. The movie premieres here some time in January so I haven't got any first hand-reviews from people yet.

But yeah, it looks quite intense.. not sure I would enjoy it.. I mean will it give me nightmares? Is it the kind of movie that stays with you when you're in bed and the shadows seems to come alive and overtake your imagination for months after you've left the theatre?

Hmm I should probably try to send one of my friends to check it out.... If only I knew someone who wants to go and see a ballet movie (yeah, I know but try and tell them that it's not about ballet per se... they're wearing tutus so they won't be fooleth....) and then know some other people who wants to go see it with me if I decide to give it a go.. after I already sent the test person to see it...

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In terms of nightmares, Darren Aronofsky is one of those extremely visceral directors, as in he doesn't quite shy away from intense images (As in seen in Requiem for a Dream). It's a very unsettling sort of horror, as opposed to shock and awe. I still recommend it though.

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I was cured all right.

I pretty much agree with Tim4x and Caunion, with the additive that you probably shouldn't go see it with anyone you're uncomfortable with. It's got some very adult scenes that are also very unsettling.

I hate horror movies, but this is one of my favorites from the past few years. It had enough drama and suspense to keep me interested, but the storyline itself was fascinating. It's hard to describe because, while it does have horror aspects of it, it's also part thriller, part psychological, part drama, and part art piece. There were some very creepy parts that stayed with me, but I didn't have nightmares because what was most prominent[for me] was the storyline.

I suggest going to see it, even if you have to go alone.

Well, I finally got around to seeing Black Swan, and even though Natalie Portman gave a phenomenal performance (she did deserve that Oscar!), I think overall the movie was a little overrated. It was extremely intriguing and the run-time went by in a flash, but it suffered from overstatement and veering into horror movie territory by the end. If it had stayed more in the realm of psychological thrillers, I would have been more impressed. They could have done waaay more exploring of the emotional abuse behind the creepy mother/daughter relationship! The ending struck me as a bit melodramatic, a sort of cop-out "Well, we've dug ourselves into a hole now, no other way out" finale.

But, in conclusion, a good film. Worth seeing. But not downright spectacular like I kept hearing.

Randomly, did everyone who saw it recognize Winona Ryder? I knew she had a small part going in, but I'm not sure if I would have immediately recognized her had I not already known. My mom certainly didn't and was shocked when I mentioned it

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Well of course Natalie Portman did a phenomenal job. Who did you think you were talking about?

It's vaguely amusing to see people poke holes in films that I absolutely and unconditionally adore (i.e. Inception) because you can sling all sorts of criticism and my sole response is "But it's by such and such" or "But it has so and so". But regardless, I didn't get the feeling it was going into horror. Maybe psychological horror, yes, but I thought that was the best path it could go.

I actually felt the mother/daughter relationship was done rather well. Now I use her as a point of comparison to my mother. As in "Well, my mum can be nagging but at least she's not like her...." I feel the actress who played her mother was terribly underhyped because I thought she did a great job.

I actually did recognise Winona Ryder but like you, I already knew that going in so....

Anyway, it's so hilarious to see the two of my favourite films of 2010, Inception and Black Swan, being accused of being overhyped. But then there's the Social Network....ughhh.

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I was cured all right.

Ahahaha I forgot I was talking to the biggest Natalie fan I know But no, she was definitely fantastic - I'm with you there.

You know, it's not that I disliked either Inception or Black Swan - quite the contrary. It's just that with both of them, I heard so much hype from either the critics or the fans that neither movie could measure up for me. I didn't actually know almost anything about Inception going in and really enjoyed it at first, but my enjoyment was a little diluted when I went online after seeing it and saw that everyone else thought it was the best movie of all time (what can I say - I'm a contrarian). Black Swan, on the other hand, I didn't see until last week, when I'd heard all the rave reviews and seen the award nominations and had extremely high expectations. Sometimes, for this and other reasons, I wish I lived in a nice little bubble

With The Social Network, though, all I really heard was that a few facebook friends (ha! seems appropriate) thought it was a good movie. Somehow I managed to avoid all the hype surrounding that, so when I finally did see it, I thought "Oh, that was a rather good film!" instead of "But it was supposed to be the best movie of all time...of all time... " Huzzah for bubbles! So that's my side of the story.

Back to Black Swan (AND HERE THERE BE SPOILERS) I think I would have rather it stayed more psychological toward the end than veering into hallucinations like the mother's paintings coming alive, or Beth stabbing herself with a nail file, etc. I also got nothing out of Nina's imagined transformation into the swan. For me, they could have easily shown a final dance scene where she gradually imagines herself sprouting wings...rather than all the bits with the rash and feathers sprouting and knees bending inward (that was a little too comical for what was supposed to be quite intense). But...that's just me.

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Well...hallucinations are definitely psychological, aren't they? The knees bending backward may not have work if it wasn't for the sound. Good god, that was more than a bit terrifying. Personally I feel all the body horrors worked but....

I think the best thing to do is just pretend everyone's opinions are just rubbish. Hey, wait, I already do that! LOL!!! Because all I heard from the Social Network was "OMG!!BEST FILM EVAH!!!! H!HASDFHASH!E!!!! MUST SEE!!!ISFIDASIISFDHasubf lid1!!!"

Me:

Then again, it struck the first blow by using a horrendous cover of "Creepy" by Radiohead in the trailer so I already started out not liking it. But yeah, whatever. Black Swan pwns! Social Network.

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I was cured all right.

I'd describe it as a psychological thriller , I loved it, is very dark and intense.

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They might have been thrown in there for shock. I think, done well, these are the kinds of images that stay in people's heads after the movie. The most vivid image for me is when she takes the final pose onstage as the black swan...just a beautiful shot, with the feathers and the lights. And I won't forget the knee-bending scene for a loooooong time, or the stabbing scene. Every time I walk into the kitchen at night I'm still terrified of hearing "sweet girl."

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