Our take
Ballet has always captivated with its grace and poise, so of course it captivated cinema as well, with classics such as The Red Shoes and Black Swan centered on the dance, the culture, and of course, the drama. The juxtaposition of the ideal feminine form and the ugliness of competition, the sabotage, and the objectification are regular topics, but The American adds the national identity into its themes, tackling the anxieties of a young American in an academy that isn’t friendly to outsiders. It’s stunning. It gives justice to the journey of the real ballerina Joy Womack, portrayed excellently by Talia Ryder with breathtaking ease, and given dramatic flourish through the direction of James Napier Robertson. While it doesn’t quite surpass classic ballet films, Joika proves that real life ballet can be more emotional, more traumatic than any drama made about the dance.
The story
American ballet dancer Joy Womack is accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a great ballerina.
Joy Womack is one of the very few Americans ever accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Under legendary teacher Tatiyana Volkova, she hopes to score the main role of Paquita, though her hostile Russian competition and her burgeoning relationship with a fellow male dancer might get in the way.
Talia Ryder. She was excellent in Never Rarely Sometimes Always, so her dramatic capabilities weren’t surprising, but turns out, casting someone who actually trained in ballet helps in making the dance scenes feel believable.
I used to wish I was a ballerina, but maybe I was spared from lifelong trauma…
The details
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
