One of my greatest joys during the holiday break is seeing a new release with my family. This is a tradition we have been doing for a number of years, and along the way we have experienced duds — "The Holiday" — and triumphs — "Slumdog Millionaire."
This year we had the pleasure of seeing two films: "Black Swan" and "True Grit."
"Black Swan" follows Nina (Natalie Portman), a dedicated dancer who just landed her dream role in "Swan Lake." The ballet is a demanding one which requires the lead to play both the innocent White Swan and the evil Black Swan. The White Swan comes naturally to Nina, but the seductiveness of the Black Swan proves too much for her to handle. As her obsession to dance the part perfectly spins her out of control, she finds herself delving deeper and deeper into insanity.
As I eagerly awaited viewing "Black Swan," I became increasingly worried as more and more hype surrounded its release. I have often experienced displeasure with overly hyped films. So as the lights came down in the theater, I took a deep breath and braced myself for a possibly disappointing outcome. Fortunately, "Black Swan" did not disappoint.
Portman, although too old to play the lead ballerina, gives her best performance since her debut in "The Professional." I have never been overly excited about Portman's work, but after viewing her riveting performance, I have a new found respect for her. Her physical dedication to become a believable prima ballerina was obvious, but that would not be enough to support the film. She delved into an intensely psychological and emotional state and made the role truly convincing.
Appearing in almost every scene, Portman brought everything she had to the surface, leaving the viewers with a performance they will be unlikely to forget.
A few elements in the film were less than praiseworthy. The handheld camera, despite giving the film a realistic feel, was so overwhelmingly shaky at points that it was impossible to keep your focus on the screen.
The film would have benefited if the various explicit sexual scenes had been removed or shortened as well. They did nothing to advance the plot and the sexual innuendo was already obvious without showing anything.
I also had the pleasure of seeing the Coen brothers' latest film, "True Grit."
Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), hires "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), the best U.S. Marshal she can find, to hunt down her father's murderer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). She is not the only one hunting Chaney, though. A Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) soon joins their party, and they embark on an adventure that will test them all.
I enjoyed "True Grit" and all it had to offer. I felt that the performance of Steinfeld was the most impressive aspect of the film. She had the difficult task of standing up against acting heavyweights Bridges, Damon and Brolin. Not only did she accomplish this task, she practically stole the show. I would not be surprised to see her nominated at the Oscars this year.
Damon was hilarious in his turn as LaBoeuf. I am always impressed when big name actors like Damon take fun supporting roles. It shows they do not take themselves too seriously.
With that said, I would recommend either one of these films to movie-lovers. Furthermore, I suggest seeing them before the Academy Awards in February because they are both sure to be nominated for numerous awards.
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