Natalie Portman is Engaged, Pregnant and Pushing for an Oscar

Natalie Portman released a statement the other day that she is expecting a child and is now engaged to a ballet dancer, Benjamin Millepied from her movie Black Swan.

Natalie Portman has been all over the news as she is campaigning for Best Actress at the Oscars. The nomination would be well deserved as Portman took this role all the way. Let's just say, in one scene, I think she may have gotten herself pregnant. I cannot even fathom how Portman got into the mindset of this character. It is telling that she had to go to a deep and dark place to evoke those emotions during those cracking points. The actress has told Entertainment Weekly in an interview, “there were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” and “it was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down.”

I think the trailer gives me more chills now than ever after having seen the movie. The movie scared my friend to a point where she would not go to the washroom alone.

Black Swan Official Trailer (HD):

YT Cr: FoxSearchlight

The way this movie is filmed, from the nape of the lead's neck, gets you up close and personal. You can feel the tension building up and you can feel the pressure weighing you down as you watch; an impending explosion. I have not seen any other movies by Darren Aronofsky, but they have all had high acclaim and I have found this interesting take on the way he works from the National post:

"When Darren Aronofsky directs a film, his camera can be merciless. That possibly explains why he scares off actors, especially women.

Think of the sexual degradation Jennifer Connelly experiences in Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream, a film in which she’s passed around like a piece of meat and is required to vomit directly into the camera lens. Or another of his movies, The Wrestler: Marisa Tomei may have received an Oscar nomination for her performance as a stripper, but the way the camera prowls over her unclothed body is close to voyeuristic.

And now there’s Black Swan, in which obsessive young ballerina Natalie Portman unravels into madness before our very eyes.

Aronofsky will tell you he’s seeking to depict truth in human behaviour, no matter how painful the images may be."

You can finish reading this article at the National Post website: In Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky turns his lens on the world of ballet.

I suggest that you go see the movie if you have not seen it already. It took 10 years to finally be filmed and I hope that it gets recognition at the Oscars whether it is for Best Picture or Best Screenplay. The opening sequence is beautiful and I was amazed at how a movie focussed on ballet (which I had presumed to be dainty) could be such a great thriller. Having the protagonist being the antagonist creates a disturbing psychological battle which is heightened by the music and sound effects. Also, I will never look at ballet in the same way nor FEET!

Cr: National Post, Entertainment Weekly