Although I complained about Black Swan‘s girl-on-girl trailer and the meat-headed press coverage it received a few months back, I actually enjoyed the film itself when saw it earlier this week.
Not only did Natalie Portman get a complex, interesting and, apparently, “inspiring” role, but the mainly female cast – comprised of Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder – also had plenty to work with. What was especially nice was that the story wasn’t exclusive to a woman’s experience – themes like ambition, greed, talent, revenge and paranoia made this more than a movie about girls in tutus. As I’ve already said, it’s not that I hate chick flicks, it’s that I want to see more female-centric films that are about people.
And, to a large extent, 2010 delivered. I’ve been perusing several different Oscar Prediction blogs and sites the past few days, and while some of the same names keep popping up – Natalie Portman, Carey Mulligan, Julianne Moore, Annette Benning, among others – the race still seems wide open.
Iconcinema‘s list is divided into Long Shots, Dark Horses and Likely Nominations, the …