Black Swan

Well this little number has definitely garnered a lot of attention in recent weeks, both as the movie with tons of Oscar potential and as the movie that features Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis getting it on. Does it live up to the hype for the former reason, yes. As for the latter reason, since I’m not professional critic I have no problem saying it lives up on that end also.

The film starts out with Nina (Natalie Portman) a young and highly dedicated ballerina vying to be the star of the show the company is producing which is a slightly revamped version of Swan Lake. Nina is seemingly innocent at the start, which is the reason why her director (creepily, but effectively played by Vincent Cassel) criticizes her for not being able to play ‘The Black Swan’ despite her being able to play ‘The White Swan’ so well. He casts her regardless, believing she has some bite in her. So the film is mainly about her transformation into becoming the ‘The Black Swan’, though instead of her just perfecting it in dance, she also begins to become ‘The Black Swan’ in real life. Her slightly odd relationship with her mother becomes strained in the process and things aren’t improved with Lily (played well by Mila Kunis) around who the director believes can also play ‘The Black Swan’.

The best thing about this movie is its cinematography. While Inception had wondrous visuals well shot, this movie steals the spotlight by engaging you more with so much less. The dance sequences are wonderfully filmed and that camera never stops moving showing you the grace of the pieces from all sides.

Natalie Portman gives the performance of her life as Nina she starts out as the white swan becoming the black. She believably shows you the many aspects of a ballerina’s life, the good and the bad, and the director loves to show you the bad. She’ll make you smile one minute, cringe the next, and then just do something that’s makes you say “what the @#$%”.

For all the beauty that comes out of this film, there’s something right around the corner to make you cringe. Whether it’s the visuals of cracked toenails made from dancing too hard, inducing vomiting, close up shots of cuts fingers. While its definitely my least favorite aspect of the film, its still done effectively.

Now let’s talk about the direction, while Arnofsky keeps you engaged, he does lay it on a bit thick with a few excesses. The film has the horror element that divulges into a what’s real and what’s not, or better yet, what is actually happening and what is symbolism. Nina looks at herself in the mirror, but her reflection moves or another one where she’s walking down an alley and she sees herself, those bits are done to very little effect, but the film definitely gets you jumping once you realize the transformation is actually happening. By that point it really does become a real mindbender, which will have you questioning what was real and what wasn’t.

I’ll also compliment the script. Despite a few awkward lines involving the sexual parts of the movie, it’s decent.

Overall, I’ll say that Black Swan is one of the best movies that I never want to see again. For all of its beauty it has too much ugliness that personally I’m not willing to sit through again.

Final Score: 3/4