Portman is excellent as the ambitious but conflicted dancer who undergoes a remarkable transformation into the swan in the interests of achieving technical perfection.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky, it’s filmed in a striking way, with tropes from horror films cleverly deployed to add suspense and scary drama.
Beaches tells the story (in flashback) of two childhood friends who keep in touch by writing letters and meet up again as adults. Cecilia Carol (“C.C.”) Bloom (Midler) is a singer who finally makes it big, while Barbara Hershey plays her pal Hillary, a well-to-do lawyer. When Hillary gets ill, C.C. abandons a headlining concert to drive a long distance to be by her side.
The film is also a sort of musical, with Midler performing several songs. The problem is that I found her singing and acting completely devoid of appeal. She’s like a cut-price Barbra Streisand with none of the charm or charisma.
If you like Midler’s voice and brash persona, you’ll probably love the film. If you don’t, you’ve had it. The big “emotional” conclusion doesn’t move you because the characters don’t seem real enough. It’s difficult to believe they would ever have been friends, such is the lack of chemistry. The film also fails to chronicle C.C.’s rise to fame. We’re shown at the beginning that she’s a big star because she’s sold out a stadium show, but there’s nothing about how she made it to that point. Indeed, the storytelling is oddly patchy throughout, with too much time given to certain events and then significant happenings skipped entirely. Did they simply film the first draft of the script, before someone could take a look at the pacing and rhythm?
Beaches is also notable for especially weak and underwritten male roles. I know the focus is meant to be on the two women, but did their boyfriends and husbands really have to be so one-dimensional?
