Saving the best for last...

As I sit here on New Year’s Eve awaiting the Marx Brothers marathon, I can’t help but reflect on the films that I’ve seen this year. Most of them were mediocre, a few were horrible, and a few were spectacular. I have hoarded one of the best for the last post of the year – Darren Anorofsky’s masterpiece “Black Swan”.

I found it rather odd that in a year of such mediocrity, my two favorite films of the year (this one and Chris Nolan’s brilliant “Inception”) both require multiple viewings. I’m not one for multiple viewings, especially in theaters. It’s expensive enough to go once, much less twice. But these two are so far above everything else I’ve seen that I’d gladly pay.

It’s hard to talk about “Black Swan” without giving things away. Suffice it to say that the film is about a young ballerina’s dream of starring in “Swan Lake”, the lengths she goes to achieving her dream, and the consequences of her desires. It is the film that should award Natalie Portman an Oscar hands down, and the one that may break the Oscar rule by giving Anorofsky one for Best Director. (Other acting awards are also likely, but I’m not sure which actor I would nominate.)

It’s a film that isn’t just viewed – it’s a film that is experienced. This is especially true of the last third of the film, which is really just the ballet itself. Ballet has never been something I’ve been interested in; I’ve always thought of it like opera – FAR too rich for my blood. But you get drawn into the world of the company and the ballet in spite of yourself.

There’s also the quintessential Oscar moment – a shot of Portman so perfect, so beautiful, that you almost hold your breath. As my other half informed me, when Fox Searchlight does ads for DVDs twenty years into the future, that shot will be included in all montages. And deservedly so.

And as with any great film, it works on a literal level, but also a metaphorical one (again, similar to “Inception”). Viewers could debate for days what is seen in flashes; what is real as opposed to imagined. But it’s also extremely subjective – another hallmark of a great film. I’ve said repeatedly through the years that it’s a gifted director that leaves his story in the hands of the viewer, not the writer.

Unfortunately, though, I still have to say that the best film of 2010 for me is “Inception”. But I can’t really articulate why. I’ve called it this generation’s “Citizen Kane” – the film that should change how films are created and shot. If that is true, than runner up “Black Swan” should represent how a classic story should be re-imagined. In light of the plethora of sequels, prequels, and reboots, it would be lovely if all of Hollywood took notice of how to do it right. And both films qualify as that.