Movies Are Fun.

[sariagray]

I spent last night watching Black Swan and Inception. (I apparently felt like questioning reality this weekend). There is some rambling to be had about both.

First, Black Swan. Ever since stumbling upon Requiem For A Dream in my wild and raving youth, I have loved Darren Aronofsky's work and I adore Clint Mansell's collaborations with Aronofsky (the RFAD soundtrack is still perhaps my favorite thing of all time). It helps that Tchaikovsky is one of my all-time favorite composers, so I bought the soundtrack to Black Swan LONG before I saw the movie. Haven't listened to it yet, though. That will be a pleasure reserved, perhaps, for today. 

I thought the movie was good, solid, unhinged just enough to give the viewer pause. I also found it interesting that so many people jumped to the conclusions that Nina was bulimic and her mother was sexually abusing her and that the lesbian sex scene was "unnecessary and gratuitous." 

Interpretations are obviously personal, but I never once thought that Nina was bulimic. Anorexic, maybe (her constant willingness to turn down food doesn't fit with my understanding of bulimia), but she only threw up when she was extremely anxious, and a lot of time it looked to be just a sort of gagging without much coming up. Therefore, I'm left to believe that it was a condition of her anxiety rather than an eating disorder. 

A lot of people get on the "Nina's mother was sexually abusing her" bandwagon and, while I think this is true, I don't think she's molesting her daughter. No, the sexual abuse is in her mother's need to hinder her daughter's sexual growth and maturity. The instances so often quoted as proof include when her mother asks, "Are you ready for me?" and when she has Nina eat frosting off of her finger and when she dresses/undresses Nina. 

After being shown numerous instances of Nina being tucked in (rather innocuously, if a bit disturbing) by her mother every night, I just can't seem to see this as anything other than "Are you ready for me to tuck you in?" or "to say good night" or any other innocent statement. As for the frosting, she sees Nina as a child. It isn't overtly sexual and, while I may find it strange on a personal level, I don't read anything malicious into the action.

 

Again, her mother sees Nina as a child and wants to keep her that way. Her mother is not entirely innocent, but I do think that she cares about her daughter. She smothers her, but this could well be a reaction to Nina's own problems with instability. Honestly, I viewed this movie as a sort of Sybil Light; prettier with a less-malicious mother and less trauma. It's a strange cycle - Nina is sick, so her mother babies her and is overprotective, which only seems to exacerbate the problem. It's hard to fault the mother - no one is perfect. 

 

The mother is also not a stage mother - she keeps Nina home from performance for the sake of her health, tries to get her to eat, worries about the stress of performance, keeps in contact with the woman at the theater and genuinely seems to care that Thomas expects too much from the girls. 

 

What disturbed me most about this is that we're seeing the movie from Nina's perspective, which vilifies the mother and puts Thomas on a sort of pedestal. I spent the whole movie aching for Nina and yet wanting to punch her, adoring Thomas (and I would, anyway, I think) while thinking that he was an abusive genius, and being slightly creeped out by her mother (while simultaneously wishing I had a mother who cared so much). I think the only character I truly liked, deep-down, was Lily. We see Lily as cruel and vindictive only in situations where Nina is hallucinating - every other time, she makes kind overtures to Nina and the other girls, makes a point to apologize genuinely even when she doesn't feel like she is in the wrong, compliments and supports, and is entirely free with herself.

 

What I found most interesting about the Nina and Lily dynamic stems from Thomas's line to Nina about Beth: 

Because everything Beth does comes from within. From some dark impulse. I guess that's what makes her so thrilling to watch. So dangerous. Even perfect at times, but also so damn destructive.

Nina sees herself as the White Swan and Lily as the Black Swan in this parallel. And yet, it's Nina who has these dangerous dark destructive impulses. Sure, Lily takes illegal drugs and seemingly sleeps around and is wild and free, but that's only vilified by our current culture, not reality. Because Lily is truly...sweet. There is nothing dark about her impulses because she is honest with them, doesn't use people or manipulate them. Sure, she wants the part. Everyone does. It's Nina who is dangerous and destructive, Nina who has a truly dark impulse that she has hidden. 

 

The parallels between the ballet and Nina's life are all in her mind. And I think that resonated with me so much because I do that all of the time. She vilifies her mother as Rothbart, the one who curses her. She longs for Thomas, her prince. She fights for his affection with Lily (who I actually think was not at all interested in Thomas in the long-run), and yet tries to embrace her as her "twin."

 

But the sex scene? Totally necessary and not at all gratuitous. It wasn't about being "hot and edgy," but as a symbol of connectivity and sexual maturity. That it was with another woman is key - it is more instruction in womanhood rather than the taking of her maidenhead (which it could have been construed as if it were with a man). That it was Lily only strengthened the symbol. That it was only in Nina's mind underscored the need for a teacher in order to grow sexually.

 

Did she die in the end? I can't decide. I can't even decide if the injury was real. But it was certainly a metaphor.

 

 

 

Now, another movie that ends with a question. Inception. 

 

It...terrified me as I was watching to realize that I had somehow related this to Torchwood. But seriously. Cobb is Jack. Ariadne is Gwen. Arthur is Ianto. It didn't help my cross-over brain that Mal was named Mal and looked a little like Saffron at times....

 

But I won't get into all of the connections. What interested me is that Cobb's subconscious mind vilifies Mal, makes her vindictive and cruel and manipulative. I don't even know what that says about their relationship. It certainly underscores the guilt he feels, and how her change had sullied his memory of her despite 50 years of being together (or maybe because of?).

 

It was the end that confused me. I get that it's an open-ended ending; maybe he's still dreaming and maybe he isn't. What is bothersome is that the top doesn't falter in its spinning in the dream world (at least, not that we see) but his children are in the same clothes as the dream world/memory. Now, it's possible that they could both be in the same clothes by coincidence, but I find that hard to believe with the passage of time and the like.
 

I like questions. And it makes you wonder if Crazy Suicidal Mal was actually a projection, rather than the real Mal. I have no idea - the whole thing could have been dreamed up, which adds layers - that Cobb had fallen into limbo and the whole thing was a projection. But then, independent actions of other characters throughout (Arthur, Eames, Yusuf) while others are dreaming wouldn't be happening, really and how would Cobb know of them (in order for us to be able to see them)? I don't know what "other" people are doing in my dreams - only the people around me.

 

 

In any case, both were good. I enjoyed them. :D

 

Today, I will probably watch August Rush and Alexander, mostly to get my JRM fix. I hope he's okay.... I've seen Alexander previously (when it came out in theaters), but I don't really remember thinking much of it at the time other than "Why does JRM get SO LITTLE SCREEN TIME!?!" But this is the "Final Cut" so I'm hoping he gets some more.

Comments

[xrai-namere.livejournal.com]

YOU WATCHED INCEPTION!!!!

I briefly read some Arthur/Eames after the movie came out and I took a dip in the fandom. The way they're written, they parallel Jack/Ianto more closely than Arthur/Cobb. Then again, it's fanfiction...

I have not yet watched Black Swan. I fail at life.

[sariagray.livejournal.com]

I see Eames, or at least his relationship with Arthur, more Owen-like, personally. Their constant bating of each other and the like, you know? Not that Eames himself is like Owen.

Anyway, yeah, I read some, too. :D And I did see that parallel, but I definitely kept wanting a threesome between Cobb, Ariadne, and Arthur. Especially in the beginning sequence when Mal has Arthur.

Which makes me think that Mal is John Hart....

Black Swan is really delicious, and I like it better than Pi or The Fountain, but not as much as RFAD. I don't know...if that encourages you or not! And you don't fail at life! I hope you see it soon, though, so we can discuss! :D

[xrai-namere.livejournal.com]

Hehe, the Arthur/Eames fic I read was written by someone who also writes Jack/Ianto, so I guess the parallels come from there. :)
But Eames=Owen, yeah.
Also, Cobb/Ariadne/Arthur=FTW.

I haven't watched Pi, but I watched by The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream, and I loved them both (though this was greatly influenced by the AMAZING ORGASMIC SOUNDTRACK).

Yay! We must!