ronakkotian

I'm not familiar with Leos Carax's work but having seen Annette now, I'm very interested to watch his previous films.

Annette follows Henry McHenry, a stand up comedian, and Ann Dufrasnoux, an opera singer, whose lives completely change after the birth of their daughter, Annette.

This is so far the strangest film I've seen all year but it's also the most unique. What Leos Carax and The Sparks Brothers have created is something very ambitious and whilst not everything works in the film, it's still a film I have respect for. What I really loved about Annette was its style. Carax's take on a musical is something I've never seen before. He includes many strange shots and scenes that'll leave you gasping. The film literally opens up by breaking the 4th wall with Leos Carax starting the film which I thought was pretty creative. Experimental moments like this throughout the film is what made me enjoy Annette and Carax as a director. I love the production design with the colour green being dominant during many scenes. There is a theatrical atmosphere Carax creates with many sequences of Annette, like a scene on a yacht, and it works considering the story. Visually, it's one of the best films of the year. The music in this film was helmed in a way I didn't expect. Rather than having dance numbers, a lot of the dialogue is said in a musical manner. I didn't really find any of them to be particularly memorable and it also came across as repetitive with how many times they repeat the same lyrics. The long runtime didn't feel fully justified either. I wasn't bored at any point but it could've definitely been shorter to ensure a smoother pace.

All the acting was solid. Adam Driver has been consistently impressing me and his performance as Henry McHenry is fantastic. His singing could use some work but for the most part he did well in that department. Where I really liked him was during his stand up routines. There are some impressive long takes of him performing comedy on stage and he owns it. Marion Cotillard is excellent as usual and brings forth the angelic presence of Ann very well. Simon Helberg also does a great job for the time he's on screen.

I really admire the ambition of Annette. It's a very weird and unconventional musical, unlike any I've seen before, and Carax's abstract vision is something to behold. Not everything gels as well as it could've but it's an experience that you won't get very often and, for that reason, Annette deserves a watch.

Darren Aronofsky is a very talented director that makes very twisted yet brilliant films. I love Requiem for a Dream and Mother a lot but Black Swan may be his best film as of yet.

Black Swan follows Nina, a ballerina wanting to win the main role in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. She has to play the role of the White Swan, which she fits perfectly, and the Black Swan, a role essayed perfectly by her rival Lily. The pressure builds as she competes for the part leading to her descent into madness.

Everything about this film was phenomenal. As expected from Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan retains a similar style of filmmaking and themes he's been tackling over the course of his other films. Aronofsky's direction is perfect in every way. The level of detail in the shots and symbolism to convey the deterioration in Nina's sanity is simply astounding. I love the way he used black and white in the film to differentiate between characters and their traits. The way he blurred the line between the two colours as the film got increasingly tense and dark was excellently done. There's so much detail from the set design, costumes and Natalie Portman's performance that gets us to grips with Nina's innocent personality. The gradual downfall of her character into madness and obsession felt so organic. Aronofsky is able to build tension so well and it's due to the unpredictable nature of the film. We get a sense of what each character is like but enough room is left in their character to the point where we don't know their true intentions and motivations. The element of mystery surrounding the supporting roles contribute so much to the suspense and darkness that engulfs the film as it goes on.

Another key element to Black Swan is mirrors. There are mirrors all around this film that not only convey themes of self-reflection but also captures Nina's losing grip of reality. Aronfosky stages the camera in perfect positions that bring out the more horror elements and the frequency at which they appear later on the film confuses the audience on what's real and what's not. The ambiguity of those scenes perfectly illustrate Nina's developing psychosis and helps the audience relate to her character more as we're experiencing it with her. The visuals are really something to behold as all of it feels very purposeful and is executed very well. The slick editing and score are contributing factors to all of this. The score is beautiful yet eerie and builds towards the insanity, especially during the riveting finale. The film moves at a great pace, never losing steam and keeping the audience transfixed onto its intense imagery.

Natalie Portman gives a career best performance here as Nina. She gives this role her all and is mesmerising to watch. The childish voice she has in the film fits in so well with the innocence of her character and the way she portrays the transformation of Nina is brilliant in every way. She swept the awards scene with this performance and I cannot complain. Vincent Cassel is also amazing as the director of the company and shares some great scenes with Portman. Someone who really surprised me was Mila Kunis. Casting her as the naughty and Nina's opposite, Lily, was a great choice. She suits the role very well and gives the best performance of her career. Another excellent performer is Barbara Hershey as Nina's overbearing mother and Winona Ryder also does a great job.

Black Swan is an exquisite and disturbing character study that had me on edge from start to finish. From Natalie Portman's incredible performance to Darren Aronofsky's insane direction, Black Swan is a film that definitely deserves a watch.

There's always something to look forward to in a Nicolas Cage film. Even though nowadays Cage does abysmal films, there's one or two great ones that come with it and Pig is one of them.

Pig follows Rob, a truffle hunter who lives in the woods with his beloved pig. One day, his pig gets kidnapped and he returns to Portland to search for it.

This film could've easily gone down the simple revenge route these stories tend to have but Pig decided to take a slower and deeper approach. In his directorial debut, Michael Sarnoski displays a lot of promise as a director and storyteller. He takes this simple premise and creates a lot of emotion in it. For his first film, it looks really good. The camerawork is fantastic and I liked a lot of the darkness and dim lighting that captured the devastated mood Rob was in the entire time. Despite its 90 minute runtime, the film does move at a slow pace and the lack of action may be bothersome to some people. I did start to feel the pacing at certain points and I definitely could've been more invested in what was going on but I wasn't.

It was refreshing to see characters handle a situation like in a calm yet emotionally effective way rather than going down the typical action route and a lot of the emotion works due to the solid acting. Nicolas Cage is the best he's been in years. Beautifully understated and a man of very few words, Cage is able to channel the distressed nature of Rob in such a believable manner. As much as I would've loved to see Cage go ballistic, it was a nice change of pace to see him in a role he doesn't normally do. I was also surprised to see Alex Wolff in a film like this but he did a good job as well and played along nicely with Cage. Another great performer was Adam Arkin who had some great scenes with Cage and Wolff.

Pig ended up being an experience I didn't expect. I didn't feel as emotionally invested as the film wanted me to but I admire Sarnoski's unique approach to this story and Nicolas Cage for providing one of the best performances of his career.