Sugar (2008)

Film: Sugar (2008)

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Starring: Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland

I spotted this on BBC iPlayer this morning, saw it was about baseball and I pounced immediately. Being a huge baseball fan, a HBO film based on the sport led me to forget about writing my dissertation and watch Sugar instead. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's film from 2008 follows the life of Miguel 'Sugar' Santos, a brash and arrogant pitcher from the Dominican Republic looking to make his dreams come true and play pro ball in the States. He is the star baseball prospect in his community, beloved by his family and friends, and he finally shows his worth at his team's Dominican training camp and gets a chance to play in America with an invitation to Spring Training in Phoenix, Arizona. After distinguishing himself from his peers, Sugar is shipped off to Bridgetown, Iowa to show off his stuff in the minor leagues. Naturally Sugar has to face the trials and tribulations of living in another country, and he's hindered even more thanks to the little English he speaks. I don't want to spoil the story anymore, but obviously Sugar experiences his fair share of highs and lows during his time in Iowa, as any man in his position would. That is where the focus of this film is primarily based, when Sugar has to face the problems of being in an alien land, completely out of his depth yet he still has to decide what he wants in life.

This is not a simple sports movie and anyone who thinks this should give Sugar a watch before they judge it. Algenis Perez Soto is fantastic considering this was his first major role (plus you can tell he played some organised ball in his past - it adds to the authenticity of the movie). Sugar is not a particularly likeable character in the beginning, all brash and cocky about his skills, but he does grow on you as the film progresses and Soto should get the credit for this. By the end of Sugar, you are rooting for him to succeed in life, in spite of some of the decisions he makes. The supporting cast were also terrific, especially in highlighting the immense difficulties between different cultures and languages. Some of the most uncomfortable scenes in Sugar is when our guy can't understand what's going on around him, especially when the family Sugar lives with are talking to him. Yet these are also some of the best scenes, because it really helps you feel something for the character. Soto does a great job here, and thus succeeds in the job every actor should aspire to, making that crucial connection to the audience.

I don't want to go on and on about the film, but iPlayer has it on their site until Saturday the 26th so if you're bored and got nothing to watch, I highly recommend you give it a try. It's well worth the time, even if you don't like baseball.

A More Enjoyable Reality Rating: 7.5/10

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Black Swan (2010)

Film: Black Swan (2010)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

This review has been long overdue, since I saw this film a good few weeks ago now. It has also been reviewed to death and as a result Aronofsky's Black Swan quickly became the must-see movie of early 2011, so if you are reading this, I assume you have already seen it as the majority of us have. Thus, I'll keep this (relatively) short.

Black Swan tells the story of New York City ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Portman), who can't believe her luck when she is awarded the lead in a new rendition of 'Swan Lake'. Sayers is handed the role of the graceful White Swan, as well as the much darker and sinister Black Swan, and so has the difficult job of playing two drastically different roles. As the film progresses, Sayers doesn't just have trouble differentiating between the parts on stage, but also in her head, as Black Swan turns into a roller-coaster ride of schizophrenia and fear. Nina has to battle the objects in her life constantly; the pressure of playing both the White and Black Swan, the threat that fellow dancer Lily (Kunis) is out to get her and steal her part, and Nina's obsessive mother (played brilliantly by Barbara Hershey) who suffocates her with adoration and over-the-top mothering. Nina has to contend with all of this whilst simultaneously turning into a nutcase as the pressure gets a bit too much and our dear Nina struggles to tell the difference between reality and her imagination.

This is ultimately the defining theme throughout Black Swan, especially in the last 30-45 minutes of the film. As you sit and watch what occurs on screen, the nice film about ballet dancers turns into a thrilling and psychotic tale of pain and suffering. By the end of the film you can't tell what you've just witnessed actually happened or if you yourself made it up, like Nina often did. From the director of Pi and Requiem For a Dream, I really should have expected nothing less. Aronofsky's bread and butter as a director is his ability to frighten us silly with the realities we face everyday (which makes me think, if he wanted to, he could become quite a good horror director). Whether it's the morbid and depressing realisation of drug addiction in Requiem or the awful brutality of a broken old man in The Wrestler, Aronofsky challenges the way we watch movies and he has done it again with Black Swan.

The success of this film can certainly be shared equally between the director and his fantastic crew of talented actors and actresses. The cast were sensational throughout as every man and woman played their role perfectly. Mila Kunis was fantastic as Lily, Nina's competition and complete opposite (free spirit, sexually liberal) and credit must to go Vincent Cassel too, as Leroy the director, and consequently chief tormentor of Nina. Both Kunis and Cassel really got into their characters and made Black Swan all the better for it. However, Black Swan would be nothing without it's leading lady and the awards and plaudits must surely go to the deserving Natalie Portman. To think that this actress was once the sweet and innocent Queen Amidala in The Phantom Menace is astounding. Portman's performance in Black Swan is nothing short of spectacular and there is no doubt that if she walks away with Best Leading Actress at the Oscars this year, she will have thoroughly deserved it (she already bagged a Golden Globe). To be honest, it will be daylight robbery if she doesn't win considering the competition she is up against. The amount of time and dedication it must have taken to play her role as Nina is mind-boggling. After watching that scene when Portman writhes on her bed in self-inflicted pleasure, unaware her crazy mother is only inches away asleep in a chair, I'm not sure if she'll ever be the Queen of Naboo again in my mind... you just can't go back after that...

All in all, Black Swan was a brilliant film and I don't expect to see many better in 2011. The only criticism I have is that, whilst being a powerful and emotional film, Black Swan isn't exactly one I'll be popping in the DVD player on a regular basis. That's no slight against the film, it was excellent, but like Requiem, Black Swan is so depressing and terrifying that repeat viewings may not occur very often. However, you cannot shy away from the fact that Natalie Portman gave the performance of her career and it was truly shocking yet astounding at the same time. Not an easy feat to say the least.

A More Enjoyable Reality Rating: 8/10

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