Black Swan

Black Swan (2010) starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis. Ballerina (Portman) wins the role of the Swan Queen in "Swan Lake," but is told that she must develop her sensual side to effectively play the part of the Black Swan. Nina (the ballerina) turns out to be an unstable girl, and the pressure of preparing for the big break drives her around the bend. About halfway through this movie, I knew it couldn't have a happy ending, and it doesn't. If you're a ballet aficionado, you may get more out of this movie than I did. I found it disturbing to watch -- not a pleasant night of entertainment. The subtitles and closed captions are good. Grade: B

The Three Faces of Eve (DVD)

The Three Faces of Eve (1957) starring Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb. Woodward won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Eve, a woman with multiple personalities and three intertwined, yet separate, lives. Her performance is great. The rest of the movie leaves much to be desired. In particular, Eve's cure seems to come much too easily. It's explained in only the most superficial terms. Still, an enjoyable 90 minutes can be spent watching this movie. The subtitles are very good, except that the songs aren't captioned. Grade: B

Sybil (DVD)

Sybil (1977) starring Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Brad Davis. Woodward plays the compassionate psychiatrist Dr. Wilbur to Field's Sybil, a woman who has 16 distinct personalities, or alters. Having just read the book "Sybil," I was curious to see how closely the movie (actually a TV miniseries) would hew to the book. As it turns out, not very. The completely extraneous character of Richard (Davis) is added, and he has no real counterpart in the book. Nor does the heavy emphasis on a certain Christmas holiday come from the book. Nor does Sybil ever cook Christmas dinner for Richard and his son. The dream sequence is totally different from the book. And so on. On the other hand, Field's performance as Sybil is outstanding and can't really be faulted. Likewise, the portrayal of the horrendous abuse -- torture, really -- that Sybil suffered at the hands of her mother is true to the spirit of the book. The subtitles consist of closed captions, which are adequate. Grade: B-