The perfect psychological-thriller to end the decade. Nina Sayers is a dedicated dancer who works with a prestigous ballet company in New York City. She is played with shocking passion by Natalie Portman in a role of a lifetime, and she doesn't disappoint. Nina's dream is to be the Swan Queen in the production of Swan Lake, but when her dream comes true her mental state slowly crumbles. What makes Black Swan so irresistably powerful and shocking is the Darren Aronofsky's overpowering direction. Aronofsky is able to use excessiveness for the entire film to allow us viewers to feel just as overpowered as Nina's character.
As the Swan Queen, Nina must be able to embody both the White and Black Swan. French actor Vincent Cassell plays Thomas Leroy, the agressive and controversial director. A role that has been overlooked by the two female leads, but in reality turns out to be one of the deeper and more important performances. Consistently throughout the film Leroy tells Nina that in order for her to cross the barrier of just being the pure and innocent White Swan to being able to be the dark and passionate Black Swan, that she must "lose herself." In Black Swan Aronofsky takes one of the most common themes in film -- the loss of innocence -- and uses dark direction with horror qualties and is able to take the film to unheard of heights. Never have I been so terrified when watching a mental breakdown, when Aronofsky begins this insane journey to "perfection" he allows viewers not one moment of let up or ease.
The major struggle of the film is as said before, Nina's attempts to lose her innocence and to finally have the emotional passion required for her to be the Black Swan. Lily played by Mila Kunis is a role that shows her true acting talents. Lily is a free spirited beauty who is the complete opposite of Nina which makes her the true Black Swan of the film. Nina's insanity convinces her that Lily is out to get her part at all costs. Perfection is what Nina seeks and the women who she sees as perfect is former Swan Queen Beth MacItyre who is played by Winona Ryder. Ryder's performance begins the insanity of the film with her reactions to her apparent forced retirement. A smaller role that has major effects on the film is Barbara Hershley's performance as Nina's mother obsessive mother Erica who's pregnancy with Nina brings a sudden hault to her own dancing career. Her controlling nature seems to be what truly makes Nina so emotionally unbalanced and shielded.
Melodramatic from start to finish. Clint Mansell's music paves the way for all of the shocking times in the film. Insanity is another theme that is used so often in films that it would be harder to find films without it than with it, but only a director with unlimited amounts of courage could make this story as magnificent as it turns out being. Portman has earned endless praise as the mentally weak and emotionally unstable Nina, and you will not get one work of rebuttal from me. Real dialogue is the only thing her performance lacks. It is her beautiful dancing -- which Ms. Portman worked very hard on no matter what anyone else has to say -- and emotional destruction which will dominates this terrifying, suspenseful thriller.
A journey to perfection, that ends with the usual Aronofsky flair. Black Swan doesn't have a storyline with any real level of uniqueness, what it does have is a cast filled with stars all at the highest levels of their careers. Portman in a potentially career defining role, Kunis in a star making role, and Cassell bringing his endless acting talents overseas. The crew for this film is a match made in heaven, the technical aspects of this film are at the highest levels. There is no real classification for Black Swan; you could call it a drama, but that would be far to broad. It could be called a psychological study, but it is much deeper than that. You could even consider it a horror, but that just doesn't seem right. So I guess I will settle with saying that Black Swan is a overpowering experience that is powered by shocking but undoubtedly great direction by Darren Aronofsky, and the greatest performance of Natalie Portman's young career.
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