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Reviews
Black Swan (2010)
A SONG OF INTERNALISED HORROR FOR NINA
Poised between sophistication and crassness, talent versus ambition, mental breakdown and artistic breakthrough, BLACK SWAN blurs the lines, staying focused within a tight script but pulling off the band-aid on scars left festering for far too long.
The ballet sequences, the splendid cinematography, the delineation of everyday horrors for a young woman at the cusp of greatness and the layers of subterranean trauma fed by a volcanic charge of repression make up the singed fabric of this classic work.
Nobody could become Nina Sayers like Natalie Portman. None could fill the boots of the other players here. In a theatre of the absurd, an intense grotesquerie is occasioned by human wiles and hungry appetites in a darkening hall of fame. The real poison froths with ambition left unchecked, a real sense of amorality tipping the innocent into the deep end of the lake.
Jackie (2016)
JACKIE FULL OF GRACE
This cinematic representation humbles and haunts in equal measure, not just by the sheer intimacy of grief that is thrust upon a universal order, restituting its iconic titular figure from the headlines and taking her into an interior space where she exhales but never recovers from a personal tragedy becoming a national and international one.
Mica Levi's original score is a benchmark and I have heard and immersed myself in its sonic/ emotional structures since 2016. Ms. Portman is the vessel of emotions and conflict who rocks the boat but not without reason since conformity had already made her seem little more than wallflower.
Thank you to this collective team steered so eloquently by Pablo Larrain for investing a cresfallen tale with soul and heart, in the interactions, the hypocrisy and mesh of camaraderie.
Our Souls at Night (2017)
BEAUTY AND AMOUR COMBINE FORCES IN THIS BEAUTIFULLY ETCHED TALE
Early Netflix has been responsible for generating true recall value and memories galore for this cinephile. Along with Dee Rees' MUDBOUND, this one is a top pick.
There are so many facets of charm to be savoured here: the iconic lead duo reuniting after decades since the quirky dramedy BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Iain Armitage as the initially aloof post 2000s born kid who eventually warms up to human interaction apart from his obsession with mobile games, the fraught mother-son dynamic, the lovely supporting arc in few minutes' runtime by the certifiably reliable Judy Greer, Bruce Dern as a gossip monger and the musical score, especially the use of fiddles, keeping up with the country vibes of the Colorado setting.
The biggest source of pride is that India's very own Ritesh Batra has maintained his subtle touch and sense of empathy that he initiated on a global scale with THE LUNCHBOX and has diffused further in the Bombay set PHOTOGRAPH. He has a keen eye on unconventional situations under which two people meet. This is his bright star.
Mera Kuch Samaan (2018)
MORAL/ PERSONAL TRANSGRESSIONS THAT MORPH INTO A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN LOVE AND GUILT
I watched this teleplay primarily because of the brilliant Tanishtha Chatterjee's singular presence. Apart from the multiple times this brilliant performer has embodied rural characters with utmost sincerity, this was a showcase for her to be situated within an urban, middle class, modern-day ethos without stereotypes or judgements. That's something that was sorely missing from many of her decidedly complex portrayals. Singularly, this gave her the freedom to settle into the emotional cadences of individuality that expressed itself romantically, domestically and with as much human nuances.
Her scenes with Joy Sengupta were full of clarity and moments of tenderness- beginning with the complexity of illicit bonds, her arc with him carried itself to the point where guilt, friendship, intellectual compatibility all clashed with a personal outlook towards life.
Kudos to her. In the way she simultaneously handled a middle aged maturity and hankering for romantic profusion here without fully reconciling with either, she reminded me of Smita Patil while being her own usual competent self.