Don't Believe the Hype

Rating: 5/10 (7 January 2011)

I really don't understand all the awards buzz surrounding this film. It is so over-the-top campy! Maybe a little bit of this was on purpose--casting Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder is already perhaps something of a clue to where this film's sensibilities lie. Even Vincent Cassel camps it up, and he is too good for this not to be on purpose. The premise is just so tired: "You must break through to the dark side to create real art, even if it means destroying yourself." Yawn. Maybe the film was really, at heart, making fun of this credo? I just don't give it that much credit. But credit is due to Natalie Portman, who manages to weather the storm and play her role convincingly enough. Maybe this is what is so jarring--she plays it straight while most of the other actors in the movie do not. Anyhow, this film didn't gel for me, though I could not fail to be moved by Tchikovsky's music for "Swan Lake," the most beautiful ballet score of all, and overwhelming in its beauty.