Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Black Swan

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recenty seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Black Swan - Opening December 1, 2010



There’s much to say about this film based both on the trailer and on the people involved. This is the fifth feature film from Darren Aronofsky after “Pi,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Fountain,” and “The Wrestler” (I’ve seen them all – have you?). In his most recent Oscar-nominated venture, Aronofsky took a bit of a break from his fantasy-heavy, seriously trippy tendencies and made a story about one normal character. Now, he’s focusing his latest project on a few main characters in a story that seems plausible enough at the start and then takes a turn for the intense and potentially supernatural. Either way, it looks nightmarish in a good way, especially considering the talent in front of the camera. Natalie Portman hasn’t had much of a chance to demonstrate her acting abilities recently aside from two films in 2004 – “Garden State” and “Closer” – and now this lead role might be just what she needs to be taken seriously as an adult actress. After her turn in “V for Vendetta,” I have no doubt that she’s well-suited to this part. Vincent Cassel is an extremely underrated actor, and giving him a dramatic part is a phenomenal idea. And then there’s Mila Kunis, who pleasantly surprised me with her mature performance in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” but has yet to prove her worth in drama. This movie seems interesting at the start and then becomes crazy and scary, but hopefully it will be more like “The Fountain,” which was dazzling and enrapturing even if it didn’t make complete sense, as opposed to his previous two films, which lost me midway through. What makes me most excited for this film, actually, is the music. The tones at the end of the trailer were awesome, and I was thrilled to find that my suspicion was correct: Aronofsky is using his regular composer, Clint Mansell, for this film. If you doubt Mansell’s amazing abilities, look (or rather, listen) no further than the mesmerizing scores for “The Fountain” and “Requiem for a Dream.” I’m looking forward to this film – are you?