Black Swan Takes the Lead in 2011 Spirit Awards: Can it Fly Away with OscarsToo?

When I first saw the trailer for Black Swan I was driven to hit the theater at the first opportunity. Black Swan is a tragic tale filled with mind games, back stabbing and metamorphosis. The acting, direction, and cinematography were all top notch. Those handing out trophies at the 26^th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards agree, and to prove it they handed out four awards to the film for Best Feature, Best Lead Actress (Natalie Portman), Best Cinematography, (Matthew Labatique), and Best director (Darren Aronofsky).

On Sunday February 27^th, Black Swan will be going for the crown jewel of film awards, the Academy Award, otherwise known as the Oscars. The Academy was indeed impressed with the film, granting it 5 nominations in the same categories it was recognized by The Spirit Awards, and an additional nomination in Film Editing.

It's been several months since I've seen Black Swan, and indeed I did feel affected when I left the theater, and I felt I was given the movie the trailer had promised me and much more.

But while Black Swan cleaned house at the Spirit Awards I wonder if it can keep up with the Oscar darling, The King's Speech that will walk into the night with twelve nominations. The two films go head to head in every category except lead actress where Portman is squared up against film veterans Annette Bening and Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams, and relative newcomer Jennifer Lawrence who starred in Winter's Bone - a film and actress that went largely under the radar and seems to be just the kind of film the Academy likes to make their dark horse.

In Black Swan, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is the darling of the ballet company which earns her the lead in a special adaptation of Swan Lake. But Nina struggles with maintaining balance between the white swan and black swan aspects of her character and finds herself feeling threatened by the company newcomer, Lily, played by Mila Kunis. It's up to viewers to assess how much of this threat is real and how much is perceived by Nina as her life begins to parallel that of the ballet she stars in.

No matter how many categories Black Swan grabs trophies for at tonight's Oscars, it is still a film that I highly recommend. It is incredibly acted, and visually stunning, and is well worth a trip - or two to the theater to capture on the big screen before it flies away.