Review: Black Swan

Plot: Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a driven and talented but withdrawn ballet dancer working in New York City. When the current star of the production company Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) is forced out, Nina eyes the lead role in the upcoming production of Swan Lake. Facing competition from newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis), an overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey), and demanding director Thomas (Vincent Cassel), Nina begins to psychologically unravel in her quest to be perfect.

Review: Black Swan is a welcome new edition to director Darren Aronofsky's already strong film pedigree, which include the critically acclaimed films Requiem for a Dream, Pi, and The Wrestler. Black Swan is easily the best example of a psychological breakdown caught on film since DeNiro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. At times terrifying, beautiful, and inspiring, Black Swan is ultimately a film about the human mind, about the dark places that hide within all of us and the people and events that influence our personality. The film holds a gritty, fascinating mirror up to the audience's face and dares them to look away.

Visually, Black Swan is a stunning movie and cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who previously worked with Aronofsky on Pi and Requiem for a Dream, is once again at the top of his game. Under Aronofsky's skilled direction, Libatique is able to capture the grandeur of the ballet stage and the sweaty underbelly of the night club with equal aplomb. Tracking shots (an Aronofsky staple) are abundantly present. Of particular interest is the focus by Libatique and Aronofsky on limbs, in Black Swan's case feet and legs. The shots reveal the pain that Nina goes through to obtain greatness, including swollen and twisted ankles and bloody toes. It is very similar to the training regimen shots and action shots seen in The Wrestler.

Clint Mansell's haunting score highlights the devastation that Nina goes through whether it involves her overbearing mother or a ballet director who is trying to get into her pants. Mansell would have nothing to work with however if it were not for the stunning script by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John McLaughlin. The language is both beautiful and visceral, passionate and raw. It is a great examination of the concept of the "double" a term often used in literary circles. In this case Nina and Lily are doubles, as are Nina and her mother, and even to a lesser extent Nina and Thomas. The nature of duality or a dark/light side is nothing new, but Heyman, Heinz, and McLaughlin's script manages to reinvigorate the doppelganger concept with a vitality that just rips off the screen.

Cassell is excellent as the arrogant, domineering, and slimy ballet director Thomas Leroy. The scenes where he asks Nina about her sex life are incredibly uncomfortable...and they are meant be. Mila Kunis is strong as the wild-girl Lily who has a back tattoo and likes the night life. It is not really a stretch for Kunis but she did make me forget for two hours that she was Meg from Family Guy and Jackie from That 70's Show. Even Winona Ryder makes an excellent cameo as the broken down ballet star Beth who is forced into retirement by Thomas. Beth's confrontation with Nina and scenes in the hospital were particularly memorable.

Black Swan doesn't fly without Natalie Portman however. Her portrayal of Nina is nothing short of breathtaking. Portman's challenging role is as much psychological and emotional as it is physical. She spent months training with a ballet coach and getting her body whittled down to just sinew and bone. Her dancing is remarkable. Portman's physical capabilities are only surpassed by her stunning embodiment of Nina. Nina is quite literally that controlled white swan desperate to break out. I found myself wanting to scream at Nina sometimes to stop being so damn passive. That's how good Portman was. However at other times we see the dark side to Nina that's just pure raw energy. One of the great things about Aronofsky is that he is a director who loves to take risks. Black Swan is a perfect marriage between actress and director. It cannot be easy to tell an actress to go on set and masturbate or do a lesbian sex scene with Mila Kunis. Portman is fearless however. You can tell that she put everything into this character and squeezed the maximum out of every single scene. If she is not the Academy Award winner for Best Actress this year you might as well just flush the trophy down the drain.

Great movies in my opinion make you care about subjects you have little or no interest in. I could give a fig about flying but Scorcese's The Aviator made me care about aviation. So it is with Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. You will probably never find me at the ballet at anytime in the future but I was completely enthralled by this film. The gritty imagery, masterful direction, and spectacular performances will linger in my mind for days. Black Swan simply soars through the cinematic stratosphere into movie going excellence.

My rating: 10/10