Black Swan (2010)

Darren Aronofsky –Director

Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin – Screenplay

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassell, Barbara Hersey

I don’t know if you’re the kind of person who pre-games pretty much every nighttime activity but… I would suggest perhaps a ginger ale before this one. Black Swan is pretty much a redo of Requiem for a Dream – unsurprising as it was Aronofsky’s golden ticket to Hollywood carte blanche- basically with half clad ballerinas standing in for smack. You’ve got your quick cuts, the intense camera angles, a psychological delve into madness and, overall, a nauseous, overwhelming portrait of obsession.  And you know what, the formula still works.

The psychological drama is an utterly… well... intense view of Natalie Portman as Nina Sears, the tormented ballerina struggling with inner and, perhaps, outer demons as she attempts to gracefully claw her way to stardom. A twisted reimagining of the classic Swan Lake, Sears is the epitome of the delicate and virginal White Swan. Playing the “sweet girl” for her demented and overbearing mother (played as the ultimate momager by Barbara Hersey), she fights to embrace her dark side and embody the dangerous and promiscuous Black Swan. Between her mother, a creepily interested director (Vincent Cassell), her dangerously unstable dethroned rival (Winona Ryder no doubt looking for her comeback), and a beautiful and clearly sexually liberated peer (hello! Mila Kunis!), there are enough dark forces to drag anyone down. And yet poor Nina’s innate ethereal timidity and utter terror to lose any semblance of control, continue to envelop her. But like any good, well controlled girl, Sears is a full-on basketcase on the verge of a breakdown.  

While the movie is clearly a showcase of some beautiful talent (Mila Kunis plays the role of the free-spirited, real life incarnation of the Black Swan to a tee), it is totally and completely Natalie Portman’s stage. She literally carries the camera on her chest and shoulders and invites the audience into the most private (and provocative) scenes of her demise. She is the definition of giving one’s self for a role, obviously enduring mental and physical anguishes to embody the dancer, even  dropping down to nothing but bone and muscle.

Undoubtedly one of the year’s best, Black Swan comes off with a unique mixture of fictional biopic and horrifying psycho thriller reminiscent of Hitchcock or Carrie. While the twist is one that many may see coming, it leaves you on the edge of your seat, hands gripping the armrest and panting (lesbian scene anyone?) for a second viewing to pick up more.

*Eyes akimbo for Natalie Portman picking up a Best Actress