Birds of Paradise

This is very much what you would expect from a dark ballet story in terms of the rivalry, backstabbing, abuse, sex, drugs, etc. It has a dreamlike quality to it, wonderful dancing, and a cool setting though that keeps it somewhat interesting even when its not entirely original or unique.

This movie starts out promising, but from "save the last dance" to "black swan", it will remind you of all those scenes, some so alike it's not even funny. The cast is bland, the acting is bland, there are no great dance scenes as they are almost poorly filmed or cut. The end kinda saves it, and so does the contrived friendship between the two main portagonists, but that's about it. Watchable.

This could have been a really good film. A masterpiece even. I hate that it missed that chance because it didn't exactly know what to focus on, what message it wanted to put out there, it is giving me the feeling as if it was not edited right.

The film had its shining moments and the acting is superb especially Kristine Frøseth's performance - just wow. She is so believable in her portrayal of Marine.

But the rest of it, most importantly the storyline felt rushed, like there were too many things going on and not enough time to tell them. Themes and plots were being juggled all at the same time and it it did not come out well.

I wish the directiom and the writing have been focused on the darker themes of betrayal, self sabotage, the grit and competition, the mentality and toxic environment of ballet, if it was able to balance the themes well and have given it the time to simmer then this would be a legend of a film.

Instead I found myself confused having to digest new pieces of information about the characters watching it all unfold too fast whilst still trying to process what had happened a few scenes back.

The choreography is brilliant ut ther ewer enit enough dancing shown, the cinematography will take you there but then once you the story becomes lacking. We are gifted the chemistry of the two main leads but even that was not maximized.

It felt as though I went to eat at a restaurant expecting to have a good meal that will fill me but found the dishes uncooked and left feeling even hungrier.

Considering the amount of fodder on Prime video, I was expecting mostly filler and there was a point where I asked myself what the movie was actually supposed to be about?

And did it rise above that and finally mean anything? No, it didn't, but I watched it all the way through and kept on hoping for something bigger and deeper, which is all you can ask for, even though you don't necessarily get it.

Beautiful people, not too cheesy, some pretty good acting, a few good songs and mostly great presentation. The film didn't try too hard and I liked it for its simplicity and eroticism and for not handing everything out on a plate.

An entertaining watch that failed to hit major highs because the core story just isn't strong enough, but still classy and subtle enough to maintain a steady 7/10.

Competition brings out the best in some people... but it can destroy others.

'Black Cygnet'.