‘Black Swan’ Review

Release Date: 12/03/2010

Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassell) is the director/choreographer of one of New York’s top ballet companies. Parallel to the tough times our economy is currently facing, the ballet company has fallen on hard times. Desperate for some sort of resuscitation, Thomas decides to revamp his award winning production of Swan Lake. His new version will be stripped-down, rawl and “real” and will emphasis the lead role’s tragic duality.  But he’s not only decided to reconstruct his ballet, but replace the productions front-woman and his once prima ballerina Beth McIntyre (Winona Rider).  Up for the part of Swan Queen (aside from the rest of the company) is the gentle, radiant and over-dedicated Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) and the beautiful, photogenic and sensual Lilly (Mila Kunis). However, only one ballerina will be given the opportunity to incarnate both the pure and innocent White Swan and the evil and seductive Black Swan. Thus, a fierce rivalry is born.

The film’s opening scene depicts Nina flawlessly performing intricate and masterful dance steps as the White Swan across a dimly lit stage. Back in reality, Nina wakes from her elegant dream-scape in her bedroom. As the camera pans across the room, we begin to seriously doubt Nina’s ability to fulfill the unique qualities of the Black Swan. Sprawled throughout her room are an assortment of stuffed-animals, trinkets and yes, even a music box featuring a twirling ballerina. I believe, “oh…that’s creepy” was the first thought that popped in my head. That thought was solidified when first introduced to Nina’s mother Erica (Barbara Hershey).  A smothering and obsessed monster of a parent who lives vicariously through her daughter’s dancing exploits. With Erica, “creepy” would only be the beginning. However, the arrival of Lilly throws a wrench in Nina’s “Swan Queen cog” as she displays her spontaneity and seductive qualities, thoroughly catching Thomas’ attention. No doubt making her a very dangerous threat to the slightly more veteran Nina. As the competition for the role of the Swan Queen commences, each dancer puts their attributes on display as Thomas lurks in the distance. As he slivers across the rehearsal stage, quietly evaluating each dancer, there’s no doubt that Nina possesses a rare gift. But much to her dismay, Thomas tells her that while she has the skill and technique for both roles, she has the temperament for only one. Nevertheless, Nina wins the role of Swan Queen.

With each passing moment, the suspense grows as opening night of Thomas’ Swan Lake approaches. With this, the other side of the coin is exposed. Centering on Nina and Lilly’s peculiar and perverse relationship that teeters on the edge of lesbianism. Ultimately manifesting itself into an intense love making scene which left me “adjusting” myself quite a few times…just picture Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis going at it hardcore – yeah, it was pretty damn awesome. And while some may argue the film’s main source of tension originates from Nina’s relationship, off-stage, on-stage and behind stage with Lilly, I firmly believe it’s with her mother. And given both these relationships, one could deduce an extremely controversial element to the previously stated “love making scene” which quickly went from awesome to disturbing. Leaving me quickly going from Midnight to Six.

As far as the acting is concerned, you won’t find but a couple films this year with betting performances. The obvious star of the film is Natalie Portman. She not only shows off her tremendous acting chops, but damn the girl can dance too. Oh yeah, she graduated from Harvard…some people have all the luck. For most of the film, she has a certain bottled-up emotion, giving the impression she’s battling some pretty formidable inner demons. It’s safe to say that by “fade In” its clear that Nina isn’t what you would call “well”. And it only worsens as the film progresses. In a few scenes shes just flat-out terrifying, proving herself worthy of being hailed as Swan Queen and soon to be Oscar winner…?

The supporting performances are just as worthy of praise. Mila Kunis finally gets a chance to really act as this performance will most likely serve a stepping stone for other great opportunities down the road. The other performance that I really enjoyed, and always enjoy his performances, is that of Vincent Cassell. Despite being in the business of ballet, he manages to give his character a certain amount of bravado. Giving us the slightest inclination that we haven’t seen Thomas’ true intentions. I don’t know, maybe its his french accent. Despite only being in the film for a handful of scenes, Winona Rider was quietly brilliant as well. As the once prima ballerina, Beth McIntrye, Rider manages to add just one more layer to the film. But the only other performance that ever has a chance of overshadowing Portman’s is that of Barbara Hershey. As Nina’s mother, she brings to life a character that everyone loves to hate and that flirts with something out of a Hitchock film. All of the performances were truly impressive.

“Sweet girl.”

If Thomas Leroy is to Nina Sayers, than Darren Aronofsky is to Natalie Portman. A much hidden comparison of director/performer that will go unnoticed to most, but will stand out to some. Aronofsky is known for demanding nothing but the best from his actors and he draws out of them nothing but. With the most recent and most obvious being Mickey Rourke’s career-comeback performance two years ago. Aronofsky combines the rawl and unflinching nerve of The Wrestler with the cerebral and sometimes psychological horror of Requiem for a Dream. Yet again, he manages to take a project proven too risky for most conventional directors and crafts it into another incredible piece of cinema. Not only that, but he does so in a such a fashion that leaves his artwork in a position that is not so easily classified into one particular genre. I can never wait to see what he does next. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for Black Swan, an off-the-rails experience that one moviegoer (not me) described as “bat-shit crazy”.

I couldn’t agree more.

IMDb: 8.9/10

Rottentomatoes: 91%

MovieWiseGuys: 8.0/10