Review: BLACK SWAN Dances To Perfection

   Wow, just…wow. This movie is truly a work of art, I know people often say that about good films, but this truly is art. Black Swan rises above the standard set by the current state of films. This movie will keep you thinking long after you leave the theater.

   The movie follows Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) a ballerina who has caught the eye of company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). The company is in the process of producing Swan Lake; the production requires a ballerina to play both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. Nina is a perfectionist and thus is a perfect fit for the White Swan, while a rival dancer, Lily (Kunis), has a personality that fits the Black Swan. Thomas believes that Nina is too controlled and perfect in her dancing for the Black Swan. As she pushes herself for the role, Nina slowly finds a dark side of herself as she finds her life beginning to mirror the ballet.

   The direction of this film is brilliant; director Darren Aronofsky shows how capable a director he is once again. Every aspect of this film is brilliant. It is fascinating; the themes that he explores in this film are numerous. The film deals with themes that were in the original play Swan Lake. The main themes that Black Swan deals with are perfection, duality and doppelgangers. Black Swan shows the dark side of a person striving to be perfect, it shows what the effects of such intense training and stress can have on someone’s mental state. Everything in this film has double meaning, ever plot point, nearly every line of dialogue in the film, every character trait represents conflicting viewpoints and ideals, and every seemingly innocent act has a dark side. A perfect example of this would be Nina herself, but one that can be openly discussed without ruining major plot details would be Nina’s mother Erica played perfectly by Barbara Hershey. Erica seems to be the perfect mother; she loves Nina, and puts her before all other needs. This seemingly sweet relationship with her daughter belies a possible sinister nature, she is controlling of her daughter, she forces her daughter to spend every spare minute of their time together, she treats her daughter like a child, and she is obsessive of her daughter, spending her time painting pictures of Nina. Even the comedy relief moments are eerie under further observation; some are even chilling in retrospect. This film also delves deeply into the concept of doppelgangers, something that is central to the original Swan Lake. I will not delve into it any further because I do not want to spoil anything for those who have not seen the film.

   The concept of someone’s passion for their art destroying themselves was explored in detail in Aronofsky’s previous film The Wrestler. In many ways Black Swan and , The Wrestler are opposite sides of the same coin. Both are quite similar in their delivery, yet there are still differences. The Wrestler shows who a burnt out wrestler at the end of his career is trying to make a comeback and how he has managed to self destruct himself through his excesses. Black Swan shows a ballerina self destructing through her drive for perfection in an art that encourages

   Aronofsky really manages to squeeze every drop of talent from his cast, pushing some of them to deliver the best performances of their careers. All of the cast members are extraordinarily talented and truly express their skill here.

   Natalie Portman is absolutely breathtaking in this role. She has always given good performances in her roles in previous years, but in this film, she shines like never before. It is a tall order to say that this is her best performance, but it is not an invalid statement she is nothing short of perfection in this film. Portman perfectly portrays the complex character of Nina; she switches between contrasting personalities at a moments notice. I was captivated by her in this film, she displayed such depth and emotion, and she was magnificent.

   Vincent Cassel is an amazing actor, truly a master at his craft. Here, he is as amazing as usual. His character Thomas is complex and manipulative, for Thomas sexuality is a tool, or an instrument that can be used to shape his dancers to his needs. Cassel is an amazing actor from whom I have never seen a bad performance. Here, he does not disappoint. His character is energetic and yet restrained, emotional, yet cold. I can heap nothing but praise onto his performance.

   Mila Kunis gave the most surprising performance of the film. I have always regarded her as a talented actor, yet I had never seen her live up to the talent I felt she had. In addition, the fact that she is blessed (or cursed?) with being the voice of Meg Griffin, have made it difficult for me to see her is serious roles. Her acting has always been good; her voice just reminds me of Meg. Here though, I did not see Meg, I saw her character Lily. Her performance in this was breathtaking, it is true that her voice is the same, and it is a lovely voice, but here it was not a distraction, rather it added to the nature of her character. Kunis gives an amazing performance here; she is nothing short of astounding.
Nina’s mother Erica was played by Barbara Hershey, she was interesting in this film. Erica is just as complex as the rest of the cast. Outwardly, she appears as the typical worrisome and doting mother. But under closer inspection, her character takes on a more sinister air. Hershey does a brilliant job of never allowing this to show; throughout the film, she seems to be a simple, doting mother.

   I must admit that is was surprised to see Winona Ryder in this film. She gave a powerful performance that acts as a dark warning to anyone who is willing to go to extreme lengths to succeed in a goal. Her character was not in the film that much, but she was magnificent in all of her scenes. She usually plays a certain type of character, often a “good girl” type of role, here it is nice to see her break her usual character type.

   The score to this film was an amazing reinterpretation of the music composed for the original Swan Lake. Sadly, this will prevent the score composed by Clint Mansell will not be eligible for best score at the Academy Awards, if it were eligible it would no doubt stand a good chance of winning the award. The two songs “Perfection” and “A Swan Song” are absolutely chilling; these pieces take an already gripping scene and heighten the emotion considerably.

   Black Swan is the type of movie that only comes along once every few years. It is definitely worth seeing, and you will not regret viewing it. Just as the dancers try to achieve, this film achieves perfection. This is truly Aronofsky’s best film so far, it will be hard for him to top this one.

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky Written by: Mark Heyman Andres Heinz Starring: Natalie Portman Vincent Cassel Mila Kunis Barbara Hershey Winona Ryder Studio: Cross Creek Pictures Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures Running Time: 108 Minutes Rated R

Amazing! (+) Amazing performances from entire cast (+) Gripping storyline (+) Amazing score (+) Gripping story (+) Intricately woven themes and symbolism (+) Beautiful cinematography (+) Chilling climax (+) An unexpected delight