Dud of a movie that stars Natalie Portman as a pop star whose life is in a shambles but who is idolized by millions despite the fact that her concerts look like the child that would result if ABBA and "Starlight Express" got drunk at a party and had unprotected sex in the bathroom.
The gimmick is that the actress who plays Portman's character as a young woman plays Portman's daughter later in the film. Portman's character was the survivor of a school shooting, which somehow impacts the person she becomes and presumably accounts at least partially for what a total raving nut job she is, but the movie is so ineptly made that it's never made clear how or why. The film also brings in themes of terrorism and the responsibility famous people have to account for real-world actions they may have a role -- whether intentional or not -- in influencing. This is actually an interesting idea to explore further, but I guess we'll have to wait for a different movie to do so. This one is too preoccupied with following Portman around as she competes for the title of Most.Aggravating.Pop.Star.Ever and dares us to keep a hold of our patience and composure while we do so. Seriously, do people in the entertainment industry thing having talent and being addicted to drugs is enough to make people interesting? They're not, and watching Portman aggressively try to act like she's having a non-stop nervous breakdown for an hour and a half is about as tedious as it sounds. Nothing is helped by the fact that Portman doesn't have the acting chops to pull this character off. Maybe she just needs better direction, because Darren Aronofsky managed to make her convincingly unhinged in "Black Swan." Here she isn't remotely believable for one second as an aging pop star.
I would say I want my money back if I had actually spent any to watch this.
Grade: D
The gimmick is that the actress who plays Portman's character as a young woman plays Portman's daughter later in the film. Portman's character was the survivor of a school shooting, which somehow impacts the person she becomes and presumably accounts at least partially for what a total raving nut job she is, but the movie is so ineptly made that it's never made clear how or why. The film also brings in themes of terrorism and the responsibility famous people have to account for real-world actions they may have a role -- whether intentional or not -- in influencing. This is actually an interesting idea to explore further, but I guess we'll have to wait for a different movie to do so. This one is too preoccupied with following Portman around as she competes for the title of Most.Aggravating.Pop.Star.Ever and dares us to keep a hold of our patience and composure while we do so. Seriously, do people in the entertainment industry thing having talent and being addicted to drugs is enough to make people interesting? They're not, and watching Portman aggressively try to act like she's having a non-stop nervous breakdown for an hour and a half is about as tedious as it sounds. Nothing is helped by the fact that Portman doesn't have the acting chops to pull this character off. Maybe she just needs better direction, because Darren Aronofsky managed to make her convincingly unhinged in "Black Swan." Here she isn't remotely believable for one second as an aging pop star.
I would say I want my money back if I had actually spent any to watch this.
Grade: D