Search found 1 match: Barbara Hershey

It seems that we might have to grow used to watching people describe as masterful and brilliant movies whose primary achievements are to rip-off older, better films. Black Swan might be the most banal so far -- though Avatar rivals it. I haven't seen Perfect Blue, but Black Swan is suspiciously similar in style, tone, structure and theme to several superior films, with Suspiria, Showgirls and The Company being the most notable and embarrassing. Even then, its jump-scare tactics are no more dignified than the average J-horror remake.

Throw in some particularly bad psycho-acting (is Portman's flat performance considered Oscar-worthy by virtue of being set against Barbara Hershey's, which is the worst I've seen in a long time?), lurid lesbianism, mind-numbing plot twists, apparent misogyny and a typically overwrought ending; what you have is the most obvious, bloated and praise-baiting movie imaginable. You're right in describing it as a "clichefest." In fact, Aronofsky seems bent on first taking those aforementioned movies, stripping them of what made them at least partially enticing, and then doling out a film of contrasting (though well-produced) blandness. Ed Gonzalez (http://slantmagazine.com/film/review/black-swan/5174) makes some good points to this effect.

I can't see any tangible reason for this film being so heavily praised other than for its willingness to pander to audience expectations and the presence of recognizable names. There appears to be no apparent point to it (another way in which it is inferior to The Company), the performances by the actors do nothing other than fulfill the basic brief (Mila Kunis raises her eyebrow and looks alluring, critics go wild!), the plot is devoid of any surprise or originality, the characters are ludicrously one-note, the direction (as you Shogun note) is routine, and the amount of repetition throughout is just plain irritating.

It's a film seemingly conceptualized with no intent other than to rip off movies that it's target market presumably hadn't seen (Perfect Blue, The Company, Suspiria) or didn't care to remember (Showgirls), with the core goal being an Oscar nod. The fact that Black Swan mostly failed to achieve it's core goal is the best thing about it.