The American

This is a great film . So much quality here ! First of all the sound editing and sound track were both extremely well done - the music and choices where to add music and where to go silent were meaningful and purposeful and crated the exact vibe to math the visual aesthetic.

Secondly the story itself is told brilliantly - you are left feeling the passion and desire and sadness - you see and feel the spiral into something completely raw and vulnerable- the love story here is between ballet and the dancer . The lead was incredible and she did an amazing job helping you feel raw .

The whole movie makes you feel sort of "icky " and question how far you would do to get what you want , what kind of person would you become to be the best ?

You are drawn in , impressed and left thinking long after . This review isn't doing this film justice but I loved it - it has an X- factor I can't even seem to put into words here .

Ballet is hard core - watch this !

No pun intended - and if you know your ballet you get the reference anyway ... although if you know your ballet (as in really know) ... you might have heard of the real story behind this movie. While it may sound and feel cliche at times, apparently some of this actually happened.

I think you can tell I have no clue what transpired ... but maybe that helps the experience of watching this: not knowing where it will end up! Or rather where our main heroine will end up ... ballet or the pursuit of it .. does not really feel like the pursuit of happiness. Is it worth it? What does "winning" mean? How can one even measure ones success? Take the ending of this for example (no worries, won't say what it is) ... if the credits did not clarify ... it might or could have been interpreted differently I reckon.

Really tight script and well acted overall to say the least. Interesting I never heard of this before - good that I was able to find it on a streaming service.

"Black Swan" was the definitive story of a ballerina spiralling into madness under the prolonged pressures of competition, physical wear and injury, and emotional insecurity. While Joy Womack narrowly avoids total destruction, "The American" just adds the cultural and political stressors without differentiating the styles of training and ballet between Russian and American schools. That would have been more telling than the unrelenting scenes of Joy Wormack's furrowed brow, tears and smeared mascara. Diane Kruger rescued this otherwise tedious litany with her portrayal of a tough taskmaster but the male dancer Womack marries (Nik) provides the only emotional relief and humanity in this maudlin tale.

American ballet dancer Joy Womack fights tooth and nail to be accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a prima ballerina.

The obvious comparison is to Black Swan. Both films tell of the rigours and trials of training, becoming a ballerina, and then achieving greatness. Only a tiny proportion of ballerinas achieve great success, and this is about overcoming sabotage as well as politics and of course...training harder than anyone else.

Both films show the dark side and the bright side of ballet although arguably The American has fewer dancing scenes.

Talia Ryder is perfect in the role as Natalie Portman was in Black Swan. I totally believed in her dream, I believed in her ability to achieve it, and I believed that inside her she was born a dancer.

I wonder how much of the story is actual fact? Much of it is apparently, including the corruption allegations. This is how great the film was. It has made me question every aspect of it, and research Joy Womack's life so I get to know more about her, and generally have a more positive opinion of how difficult it is to become a great ballerina.

Fabulous film, I gave it a solid 8.

I saw this in a relatively packed theatre, and the audience responses to it were so intense that a couple behind me started almost yelling at the screen during certain moments.

The story is based on Joy Womack, the American dancer who danced at the Bolshoi, and it seems to follow a relatively straightforward narrative initially. But once things start going wrong, it felt like a rollercoaster ride dropping into a relentless series of unpredictable twists and turns. I won't say much more for the sake of not giving spoilers, but suffice to say, I was constantly on the edge of my seat, and it felt very gripping right to the very end. I was literally holding my breath in parts.

The performances are extremely strong, particularly from Talia Ryder and Diane Kruger. It is visually stunning to look at, and features quite incredible direction at times from director (and writer) James Napier Robertson - who made another favourite film of mine, The Dark Horse. The music is beautiful, and very emotional.

The only warning I would give is this would not be for a younger audience, and might be a little too intense at times for some more sensitive audiences. It gets quite confronting at times.

The final imagery has stayed burned into my mind for days after the screening. Very powerful.

Highly recommend!