Visually thrilling but awful stereotypes

Rating: 6/10 (26 February 2011)

Still I want to give 6/10 just simply because Arronofsky is a great director. He made some silly stuff (The Fountain) but knows how to create some beautiful cinema which shows his compassion for composition and bringing together old-fashioned characterization and filming and modern use of the digital effects and editing. So, Black Swan is a roller-coaster drive, full of shocks and awesome, powerful scenes that create the atmosphere of madness and obsession we see Nina going through. Well done for that; I thoroughly enjoyed that. But then, my god, are we still in the 60ies? For crying out loud when does this stupid stereotype finally dies out in cinema? Innocent virgin = good; Innocent virgin on the brink to become a sexually active woman = mad and bad, very bad, so bad, that she cannot survive.... Please, please. We had it all before. And, as before, madness and disorder in a woman is depicted with her sexual awakening and it must end with someone sticking something into her body to shut her up. (Another fine example from mainstream Hollywood for that? Watch X-Men III). Would be nice to see different stories with different women. Winters Bone for example. A lot of madness to be seen, still organic characters, with more to see than just clichés I am so tired off.