Black Swan Review

Black Swan (2010)
Rating: R
Length: 108 minutes
Release date: December 3, 2010
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Genre: Drama/Thriller

Cast: Full Cast

Official Website: Black Swan

Black Swan is Darren Aronofsky's newest film, offering us a psychological thriller on a platter. The talented director Aronofsky has been nicknamed "The Shrink of Hollywood" as he has a special talent to travel into the inner working of minds that turn out to be places that are strange and uncomfortable.

After pairing up with Hugh Jackman in "The Fountain", then seemingly bringing Mickey Rourke out of Hollywood's recycle bin, Aronofsky hits a homerun this time, with box office sensation Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. In fact the two are generating lots of talk , and it's not just for their acting abilities in the racy Back Swan.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), is an up and coming ballet dancer. Her hard work has finally paid off as she is given the opportunity of a lifetime, to become the featured dancer in her ballet production companies version of Swan Lake . But her obsession with perfection as a dancer starts to intermingle with her sanity in everyday life.

Swan Lake is the most popular story in ballet. It is one of a beautiful virgin who is put under a spell by a witch that turns her into a swan. The only way this swan can break the spell is to make a Prince fall in love with her. But at the last moment, the Prince chooses the more tempting and alluring Black Swan. The White Swan kills herself in desperation and humiliation. Nina would describe this as a "beautiful" ending because the White Swan died as a perfect being. This story is almost followed verbatim as the movie "Black Swan" but we get an interesting and highly entertaining version from the crafty storyteller Darren Aronofsky. As you watch this movie, keep an eye out for the Evil Witch, the Swan Prince, the Black Swan, and the White Swan. Some may be obvious but others not nearly as much as you'd first think!

In the film, it is explained that Swan Lake has been done many times, but not like ballet director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel ) has in mind. The same dancer will be both the White Swan and the Black Swan in his version, and it eventually drives Nina over the brink of madness, which she teeters on throughout the film.

Nina is able to dance the White Swan's role perfectly from a technical standpoint, but Leroy hopes to help her find her inner passion, the ability to seduce the audience, which is what is required of the role of the Black Swan. As Nina struggles throughout the movie to get away from her White Swan mentality and delve deeper into the human psyche of sexuality and seduction, her feeble grip with reality becomes less and less.

With ballet and perfection being Nina's lifelong obsession, it seems to take their tole on her grasp with reality. The movie starts off slowly hinting to us that Nina has eating disorders and other obsessive compulsions such as scratching her skin until it bleeds. Adding to her dilemmas, an up and coming dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis ) is threatening her role as lead dancer. Lily and Nina team up to create a friendship that we as a viewer can not tell if it's malignant or non-threatening in real life, but in Nina's weak mental grasp on reality, it ultimately proves unhealthy for Nina.

Also consistently emanating psychological pressure on Nina is her mom, a role played perfectly by Barbara Hershey. Nina's mom Erica lives vicariously through her daughters dancing, as we are hinted to the fact that her career was cut short by Nina's pregnancy. Erica now spends her days painting portraits of Nina, taking care of Nina, and sleeping by her side.

Nina begins to hallucinate, and imagines different things taking place from dealings with the ex-lead dancer of her company, to lesbian trysts with Lily, all seemingly only taking place in the head of Nina. Throughout this, Nina slowly begins to transform from the White Swan to the Black Swan in a both mental and physical way. Although the physical aspects are presented as really happening to the viewer, we later realize that most if not all are all in Nina's head.

Director Darren Aronofsky has a great sense for storytelling, and "Black Swan" is no exception. In fact, fans of "The Wrestler " will find that "Black Swan" makes an interesting companion piece. "The Wrestler" shows the sensitive underbelly of both wrestling and stripping, which is not normally associated with sensitive. "Black Swan" shows the dark and competitive underbelly of ballet, something that is not normally associated with dark. Both films pay particular attention to the stress on the body, the obsession required to make it to the top, and how these things affect the main character in their ability for a normal life outside of their chosen profession. Aronofsky fans will again find the theme of self mutilation in an effort to achieve perfection from the main character. (Pi's head drilling, Requium's amputated arm, and The Fountain's cancer stricken wife into a tree, and The Wrestler's steroid use)

Aronofsky's masterpiece has been nominated for 12 Critic's Choice Awards and 4 Golden Globes, each category containing a best picture nod. Overall, "Black Swan" is a dark and twisted story that could easily be classified as horror. In fact, this movie has more horror than most self branded movies in the horror genre. The "Shrink of Hollywood" delivers in this very satisfying film that will leave you both emotionally drained and begging for more!