The buzz from enthusiastic film festival audiences, gushing critical praise and fan boy enthusiasm over an erotic sex scene between co-stars Natalie Portman (left as the Black Swan) and Mila Kunis bring more heightened anticipation to director Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller “Black Swan” than his previous four films combined. A thriller set in the highly competitive world of a prestigious New York ballet company; “Black Swan” delivers all the artistry and drama one hopes to see in Aronofsky’s follow-up to “The Wrestler.” It deserves all of its hype and more for its ability to surprise and entrance moviegoers no matter how much they heard about the movie.
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a shy but determined dancer who receives the role of a lifetime when her company’s artistic director (Vincent Cassel) chooses her to star in a new production of Swan Lake.
Nina is poised to become the company’s prima ballerina until company politics, brutal competitiveness from a new dancer named Lily (Mila Kunis) and her struggle to portray the sensual Black Swan as well as she captures the innocent White Swan begin to erode her confidence.
Aronofsky’s film and Portman’s performance jolt to life as Nina struggles for perfection especially when portraying the Black Swan.
"Black Swan," from screenwriters Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin, is a thriller in the truest sense of the word and much more thanks to its themes of ego, narcissistic attraction to oneself and competition between two artists.
Vincent Cassel makes every scene crackle when he appears as the company's manipulative artistic director.
Winona Ryder makes good use of her brief scenes as the company’s former prima ballerina bitter over her forced retirement. Barbara Hershey is dead-on as Nina’s meddling mother.
Kunis compliments Portman well with her smoky looks and playful personality. Her dynamic with Portman has much to do with a brutal competitive spirit as their steamy sex scene.
Still, “Black Swan” shines thanks to Portman who plays off her public persona of an innocent and somewhat virginal girl, which is part of the fun. As Nina grows obsessive about portraying the Black Swan, Portman, 29, delivers the richest, most physically demanding and complex performance of her career. She shows Nina as determined and how easily determination dissolves into dangerous obsession up until her climactic leap that rivals Moira Shearer in “The Red Shoes.”
Aronofsky embraces the independent spirit that goes back to his debut film “Pi” and retains that edginess in the larger scale of a lush film like “Black Swan.”
Aronofsky and cameraman Matthew Libatique keep the spotlight on the stage and Portman’s dancing. Sweeping camerawork boosts the suspense and through all the tension Portman remains beautiful, graceful and enthralling.
Aronofsky makes “Black Swan” wonderfully challenging with its psychological themes, dream sequences and increasing fuzziness between reality and fantasy.
Yet, at every twist and with every turn Aronofsky remains committed to entertaining. “Black Swan” may take place in the world of high art and offer rich psychological drama but it’s also the cinematic equivalent of a fun roller-coaster ride.
Five Stars
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Scriptwriter: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin
Cinematographer: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
Cast: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
Editor: Andrew Weisblum
Production Designer: Thérèse DePrez
Running Time: 103 minutes
Producers: Protozoa Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Rating: Rated R
Release Date: December 3, 2010