Need to be a horror fan

Rating: 6/10 (19 January 2011)

I went to Black Swan with trepidation - expecting, hoping against, but unfortunately getting, a Horror film. All of the trappings of horror were there, in profusion - the shocking around-the-corner, over-the-rim-of-the-bathtub reveals, the violent thrums of music, the continual anticipation of violence. I have been a long-time moviegoer and perhaps, as a younger fellow, I could enjoy horror and violence in a way that is now more troubling for me, but for this film I had hoped that the power of the story, the setting, the performances would outweigh any tendency of the film to dwell in horror. The performances were great, the staging and dancing great - I loved Nina's final metamorphosis into the black swan and her back stage swagger and shimmy, but alas...
As the movie progressed, I still held out hope that rather than having to watch a descent into violent madness we might see instead a reckless, but finally satisfying, immersion of an artist into a role, which to me is a more compelling, more instructive, and less awful outcome. Any horror fan will ignore my review, as he should, but for those who approach a movie in search of something redemptive, be warned.