If you've ever wondered what an art house horror movie looks like, go see "Black Swan". But when you go see it, realize that it is an oxymoron. As an art house film, it lacks the subtlety, depth, and grace that the fans of indie films so desire. As a horror film, it is an extremely slow burn, feeling longer than its one hour and fifty minute run time. When it finally reaches it's climax, the film is thrilling but it takes time to get there and doesn't offer the constant scares that many horror fans require nowadays.

All that being said, I found the film to be entertaining. There were some genuine scares and I was completely off balance as we rolled into the final act, not knowing what to expect or what was real. All of the actors were solid but I thought that Vincent Cassell was a scene-stealer. Of course, his role was pretty much right in his wheelhouse so it's not the kind of stretch that Oscar voters reward but he does a great job and pulls off the part with such ease that he never once seems like he's "acting".

As for recommendations, it's a tough call. First off, I'd definitely recommend "127 Hours" over this although I do think that some of the power of "Swan" will be lost if you don't see it in the theater. (Then again, I have to admit that the film did give me a bit of a headache.) If you aren't expecting some deep treatise on the life of an artist and can put up with some obvious symbolism (in fact, some of it is so obvious that it's hard to really call it symbolism) and a couple of cheesy moments and don't mind art house passing and films that are slow burns, then you should check out "Black Swan". It's definitely not a film that I would give a blanket recommendation to but I found it to be one of the better movies of the year.