It’s time to swan-dive into the sixth episode of our Identity season. This week, Dan has chosen to subject us to the dark, grainy and deeply uncomfortable world of Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 psychodrama, Black Swan. After surviving Requiem for a Dream during our season of films about drugs, we’re back for a second helping of Aronofsky-flavoured self-destruction.

We’re talking Natalie Portman in possibly, her career-best role as Nina, a ballerina on a quest for artistic perfection that makes the guy from Whiplash look like a hobbyist. We’ve got Mila Kunis as the seductive Lily, Vincent Cassel playing his creepy Frenchman archetype, Barbara Hershey putting the mother in smother and Winona Ryder who thought she was signing up for a Face/Off sequel.

What to expect from this episode:

• Dan explains why he chose a ballet movie for a season about identity despite usually only watching films about disenfranchised men.
• A deep dive into why Darren Aronofsky is the undisputed king of making his protagonists suffer for their art.
• Making connections with Aronofsky’s filmography between self-destruction, loss of innocence and duality.
• Sarah shares her genuine physical trauma regarding the nail-clipping scene.
• We discuss the keratin connection between fingernails and feathers that makes the body horror so much worse.
• Why The Wrestler is the perfect companion piece to Black Swan.
• We explore the fan theory that Nina’s mother is actually a predator, not just an overbearing show mum.
• A look at the colour theory and what they represent for the protagonist.

This season has eight episodes, concluding April 27th

Would you like to see the full lineup for season 14? The only place you can see it is on Patreon but you don't need to be a paying member. Sign up for a free membership and get access to the lineup.

If you're a fan of the show and want more content, check out our £3.00 a month tier on Patreon where we release our end of season wrap shows and a minimum of 2 reviews of brand new movies every month. Plus you'll get access to our back catalogue from 2023 onwards.

Enjoy the show but can't support us financially? We get it. You could submit a review on the podcast player you're reading this on right now. Or if you listen on Spotify and you haven't given us a five-star rating yet, what are ye waiting for? It's easy.

If you've done some or all of that and still want to do more, we would love it if you tell a friend about the show.

Or come find us on social media:

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We’ve hit the midpoint of our Identity season, which Dan has effectively turned into a curated gallery of “disenfranchised men,” and our latest target is the A24 cringe comedy masterclass, Friendship (2024.)

We explore the desperate lengths someone will go to for a bit of validation and the uncomfortable gap between who we are and the character identities we perform for others. Introducing Craig Waterman, a colour-blind passive man who only wears Ocean View Dining trousers but comes alive when he meets Austin, played by Paul Rudd.

What to expect from the episode:

• We explore why A24 continues to corner the market on gdang weird cinema.
• Sarah explains why the first ten minutes felt more like a horror movie than a comedy.
• Dan defends his specific niche for film choices featuring disenfranchised men.
• We analyse Paul Rudd’s Austin and decide if he’s a cool adventurer or if he’s ticking off a midlife crisis checklist.
• Unpacking why the speed bump is the funniest recurring motif in the history of cinema.
• A serious inquiry into whether licking a toad is a viable alternative to therapy for insecure people.
• We discuss the “Jimp” incident and why it proves that comedic delivery is the only thing standing between a comedy and a psychological horror movie.
• Debating the character identities of the leads and specifically whether we’re watching a narcissist in the wild or a study in neurodivergent masking.
• Stay curious Craig.

This season has eight episodes, concluding April 27th

Would you like to see the full lineup for season 14? The only place you can see it is on Patreon but you don't need to be a paying member. Sign up for a free membership and get access to the lineup.

If you're a fan of the show and want more content, check out our £3.00 a month tier on Patreon where we release our end of season wrap shows and a minimum of 2 reviews of brand new movies every month. Plus you'll get access to our back catalogue from 2023 onwards.

Enjoy the show but can't support us financially? We get it. You could submit a review on the podcast player you're reading this on right now. Or if you listen on Spotify and you haven't given us a five-star rating yet, what are ye waiting for? It's easy.

If you've done some or all of that and still want to do more, we would love it if you tell a friend about the show.

Or come find us on social media:

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Inject this into your ears and pray that a better version of yourself doesn’t pop out of your spine. We’ve reached the fourth episode in Dan’s Identity season where we’re discussing Coralie Fargeat’s the Substance (2024).

This isn’t one of those slow French movies where characters meditate on a fireplace for three hours, it’s an $18 million bloodbath that treats Hollywood beauty standards like a personal insult. Demi Moore delivers a career defining turn as Elizabeth Sparkle, while Margaret Qualley provides the ultimate “parasitic” companion for anyone struggling with character identities.

Between Dennis Quaid behaving like a pig with a plate of prawns and a third act that left our jaws on the flaw, this film proves why body horror is best served with a side of satire and some very expensive tile work.

What to expect from this episode:

• We reveal why we watched the trailer 28 times and still weren’t prepared.
• Sarah explains her cynical view on why children are basically parasites.
• Explanation for why babies aren’t born with names.
• Attempts to pronounce Coralie Fargeat’s name at least four different ways.
• Discussion around Hollywood beauty standards.
• We decide whether this film is style over substance or a masterpiece of the crunchy and wet variety.
• Chat about why Dennis Quaid’s eating habits are the real horror of the movie.
• Explaining why Dennis Quaid’s tobacco-stained teeth are the real horror of the movie.
• Pondering why Dennis Quaid’s character name is the real horror of the movie.

This season has eight episodes, concluding April 27th

Would you like to see the full lineup for season 14? The only place you can see it is on Patreon but you don't need to be a paying member. Sign up for a free membership and get access to the lineup.

If you're a fan of the show and want more content, check out our £3.00 a month tier on Patreon where we release our end of season wrap shows and a minimum of 2 reviews of brand new movies every month. Plus you'll get access to our back catalogue from 2023 onwards.

Enjoy the show but can't support us financially? We get it. You could submit a review on the podcast player you're reading this on right now. Or if you listen on Spotify and you haven't given us a five-star rating yet, what are ye waiting for? It's easy.

If you've done some or all of that and still want to do more, we would love it if you tell a friend about the show.

Or come find us on social media:

Instagram | TikTok | Threads | YouTube