Seriously?

Rating: 6/10 (16 May 2011)

I'm sitting here reading all of these reviews about people who are blown away by this "masterpiece". Maybe it is a masterpiece, and I just can't see it. Maybe if my master's degree was in theater, instead of engineering I'd "get" this movie. I went out of my way to see this movie after hearing others talk about it, because the previews did nothing for me. But I value what others have to say, so I went for it. Maybe my girlfriend would like it. I was expecting something along the lines of The Usual Suspects, where I'm sitting at the edge of my seat, paying attention to every little detail to see if I can figure out the twist at the end of the movie.
That is exactly what I did. I was wide-eyed, while my girlfriend fell asleep. The first time I realized whatever just happened was just in her head, I was really excited. How much of it was really in her head? How do I figure out what was real and what wasn't? I almost re-started from the beginning right there. Then, I realized if I wasn't expecting a twist, I'd be really bored right now. Ohhh, there better be an awesome twist! Is she being drugged this whole time? Is this girl trying to help her, have sex with her, take her role, or even kill her? Did she kill her mom by accident? Did she kill that girl? I was glad that I stayed awake for the sex scene. Thank you for that.
The end of the movie absolutely crushed me! Oh you mean, she's just a stupid, crazy ballerina, who thinks ballet is real? Come on! I dated one of those! They all take it way too seriously! Sigh..... I wanted some logical explanation for all the crazy stuff that was happening, and maybe tie in her mom's history a bit more. Something that explains WHY all of this stuff was happening. You can't just say "oh, she's crazy" What a cop-out! This had all of the creativity (story-wise) as Trick-r-Treat.
With that said, the cinematography, was some of the best I've ever seen! If not, it was the best! I may re-watch this just for the cinematography. The lighting, camera angles, camera movement, position on the screen! Everything! It just set the right mood and contributed to the story and the feeling. Absolutely epic!
So, the cinematographer saved this movie for me. Other than that... crazy ballerina loses her mind? eh, seen it. With a different ending, this movie could have gone down in history. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I don't have the necessary vision. Maybe the incorrect half of my brain is functional to "get" this movie. Maybe it will go down in history as a great. If it does, someone please explain to me why. I want to understand. Seriously, I don't get it.