WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN: from Persona to Black Swan (and everything else in between)

These days I come across a lot of people who call Darren Aronofsky's 'Black Swan' "original". They act like its something they've never seen before. Although i do think that 'Black Swan' is pretty good, I wouldn't go so far as to call it original (even Aronofsky himself sited Polanski many times as a huge inspiration in the making of 'Black Swan'). Lets take a look at some of the subconscious cinematic influences that went in to Aronofsky's film (If you take anything away from this blog entry, at least treat it as a list of movie suggestions for people who like 'Black Swan').

'Persona' (1966)

It's no mystery that 'Persona' laid the seeds for many psychological thrillers. It inspired everything from 'dont look back' (which features a scene where we see the faces of the 2 female leads super-imposed over each other just like the classic scene in 'Persona') to 'Black Swan'. Even films like 'Mulholland Drive' got elements of their plot directly from 'Persona' (an actress or artistic woman breaking down, going insane or switching identities with another woman). 'Persona' is easily one of the most influential films of all time, with some of the most iconic imagery in film (which is commonly associated with "arthouse"). Many of the shots in 'Persona' are used as a metaphor for identity or loss of identity, which is essentially what the film is about. And like so many other films I'm going to mention, it plays on that "lipstick lesbian" fantasy that many men have (even if Bergman meant to or not). The scene when Ullman slaps Andersson is VERY sexual.

'3 Women' (1977)

Robert Altman has admitted that his film '3 Women' was partially inspired by 'Persona' (the rest was inspired by a dream). Just like Persona, '3 Woman' is another film about the loss of identity and women with 2 different personalities who eventually switch roles. At the beginning of the film, "Pinky" (Sissy Spacek) is shy and almost childlike, and looks up to "Mildred" (Shelly Duvall), who is very confident, and pretty bossy towards Pinky. After what appears to be a suicide attempt, and a brief stay in the hospital, Pinky turns in to the bossy (and kinda bitchy) one between the 2, and Mildred slowly turns in to the less dominant friend in the relationship. '3 Women' is very surreal and dreamlike. Along with 'Shortcuts', if there was a ever a film to be used as an example of the influence that Robert Altman has had on PT Anderson, it would be this. Even though the plots are very different, the music and overall vibe of 'Punch Drunk Love' borrows HEAVILY from '3 Women'.

And as you'll see in some more of the films in this entry, at some point the 2 female leads end up in bed with each other. Even when they're in the bed with one another under non-sexual pretences, there's still that element of the "hot lesbians in bed together"

And here in this promotional still for the '3 Women' (this isn't an actual scene from the film), you can see that it was obviously inspired by 'Persona' (look at the way Duvall is holding Spacek and look at the way Ullman is holding Andersson in the Persona Picture)...

'La Ceremonie' (1995)

Of all the films mentioned, Claude Charbol's drama/thriller is the most literal one out of the bunch, but i still feel it deserves to be mentioned. There's no identity switching and the film isn't surreal at all, but over time Bonnaire's character changes drastically after Huppert kind of takes her under her wing (the relationship between Kunis & Portman in Black Swan has shades of Bonnaire & Huppert's relationship in La Ceremonie).

Once again, our 2 female leads end up in bed with one another. 

'Mulholland Drive' (2001)

Just like how David Lynch drew inspiration from Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' for 'Lost Highway', he clearly got inspiration from 'Persona' for 'Mulholland Drive' (the story of an actress who has a breakdown for various reasons). 

'Inland Empire' (2006)

'Inland Empire' pretty much has all the same elements and themes as 'Mulholland Drive' (a struggling actress having an identity crisis, women kissing each other, "lipstick lesbians", etc), but should still be included in this list...

'Dont Look Back' (2009)

'Dont Look Back' is probably the weakest film on the list but the homage to Persona is so blatant that it deserves to be mentioned. Like almost every other film mentioned, in 'Dont Look Back' we have a female artist who slowly starts to have what appears to be a nervous break down and literally sees someone else when she looks in the mirror. As the story unfolds she uncovers something shocking about her childhood.

In addition to 'Persona', De Van got a lot of inspiration from Polanski (specifically 'Repulsion'). What would an "arthouse" film be without at least one scene where the main character freaks out and has a nervous breakdown in front of a mirror?

'Black Swan' (2010)

The Polanski/Hitchcock vibe is pretty obvious, but I'd say 'Mulholland Drive' had the biggest influence on 'Black Swan'. 

Naomi Watt's audition in 'Mulholland Drive' vs. Natalie Portman's audition in 'Black Swan'

Once again, we see the female characters in bed with another in a scene that's very reminiscent of the love scene in 'Mulholland Drive'...

"Men On The Verge Of  A Nervous Breakdown"

And obviously these types of psychological thrillers aren't just for females. There's plenty of exceptions with male leads too (although i feel there's a lot more depth in these films when its a woman in the lead)...

James Stewart in 'Vertigo'

Polanski in 'The Tenant'

Bill Pullman in 'Lost Highway'

Inspector Bellamy

May Claude Charbol rest in peace, but i wasn't a fan of his final film (which oddly enough was his first ever Collaboration with iconic french actor Gerard Depardieu). This could be due to the fact that I'm not the 'afficionado' of Charbol's work like i am with other directors that i follow. It almost seems like in order to enjoy 'Inspector Bellamy' you have to really understand Charbol's style. I mean, i wouldn't throw someone in headfirst into the world of David Lynch by showing them 'Inland Empire' or recommend 'Eyes Wide Shut' to someone as their first Kubrick film. To be honest, of his large body of work, the only films of his that's Ive seen are; The Bridesmaid (which i thought was great), A Comedy of power (which i wasn't crazy about) and La Ceramonie (which i enjoyed as well). Maybe after i see more of his stuff, i might revisit 'Inspector Bellamy' and my opinion on it may change. But as of now, I'm not that impressed.
While on vacation, infamous police detective and author; Paul Bellamy (played by Gerard Depardieu) is pulled in to a mysterious case of a man; Noel Gentil, who faked his own death in order to collect insurance money so that he could run off with his mistress. Intrigued by Gentil and his story, Bellamy takes on the case and forms somewhat of a bond with him. This part of the movie i didn't quite buy. I didn't understand why Bellamy would just randomly take such a liking to Gentil. In fact, the only explanation that Bellamy gives is; "he intrigues me". Granted the case is made up of murder, mistaken identity, femme fetales, infidelity and other elements that would peak anyone's interest, but i needed a little more than just; "he intrigues me" as Bellamy's reasoning as to why he becomes so attached to the case. I didn't see much a connection there.
Also, in the midst of working on this new case (while he should be on vacation) Bellamy and his wife are visited by his unstable, alcoholic half brother; Jacques. His arrival makes the Bellamy household very tense because its clear that not only do the two brothers have some serious past family issues that are still unresolved, but its also clear that Bellamy's wife is cheating with his brother. And much like the relationship between Bellamy and Gentil, i didn't understand how a world class police inspector (who's job revolves around searching for clues), couldn't figure out that his wife and brother are cheating with other right under his nose. I mean, early in the movie its clear that Bellamy kinda suspects something between the two. In fact, there's one scene in the movie where Bellamy does confront his wife, but she casually dismisses it and Bellamy then drops it. Either he knows his wife is being unfaithful and he's just repressing it or he really has no clue. Either way, i thought that part of the story was weak.
'Inspector Bellamy' is a chilled out, laid back mystery for intellectuals with shades of Hitchcock. I imagine fans of Agatha Christie would take a liking to this. I may have many criticisms of the film, but it still had a few good points. Depardieu's acting, along with the rest of the cast, was excellent and the film was shot well (in fact there are a few standout shots of great cinematography). And for a police mystery with virtually no action whatsoever, i never found myself getting bored or nodding off (although i imagine many people with a short attention span would).