Nolio’s review published on Letterboxd:
Aronofsky and I meet again. The last film of his that I watched was Requiem, and I really enjoyed that one. Well, "enjoyed" is really a subjective label, especially for that film, but I finally watched Black Swan. I've been sort of putting this one off because I knew beforehand that it was fairly similar to Perfect Blue and I mean, it is to a point. I had a feeling I might not enjoy it as much if it was too shameless a knockoff, but honestly I'm glad both films exist.
Aronofsky does bring some new things to the table, namely Natalie Portman as the lead character which was definitely the right decision. There are Oscar nominees from 2010 I probably haven't seen, but it would be tough to top Portman in here as the winner because she's just damn good. Another thing that I enjoyed about this film is the sheer patience at which it proceeds to advance the plot. The pacing is warranted. The story itself is solidified with cutting-edge visuals and some really gorgeous framing for certain shots. And let me tell ya, this is pretty spooky at times, and the last act especially is intense - a real banger.
At the end of the day, this is a solid psychological thriller. Do I still like Perfect Blue just a bit more? Yes. Am I glad that both films exist? Absolutely. I could likely enjoy any film that has the protagonist losing grip on reality. Its such a neat premise that I'll enjoy whether its original enough, or not. I'm glad that I finally dug into this one once and for all, and I'm not disappointed in the slightest.
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