Black Swan (2010)
January 22nd 2011 05:51
Black Swan Promotional Poster - all images sourced from google.
Natalie Portman stars in this psychological thriller as Nina Sayer, a New York Ballerina on the verge of stardom. Cast in the pivotal role of the White and Black Swans of Swan Lake, Nina's gradual mental breakdown mirrors the story line of Black Swan.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John J McLaughlin, Black Swan is one of those rare films that warrants a second trip to the cinema to see it again.
Natalie Portman in the film Black Swan
There are currently dozens of reviews of this film on Orble and also filling cyberspace and the storyline is now well known, so I have no intention of rehashing what other reviewers have already said of the films premise.
A lot of the reviews I've seen today wax lyrical on the beauty, the haunting grainy imaginary and the stunning dance sequences. As I've looked at each review, reading what the reviewer felt I found proof of a comment I'd made to a friend of mine earlier today when we were discussing the film.
Black Swan is a choose your own adventure style film. Everyone sees it differently, everyone seems to take their own idea of what it was about and everyone seems to have seen a different film.
Natalie Portman is brilliant as the fragile Nina, disconnected from herself and her emotions, torn between her dream of perfection and those around her. But the film - typical of Aronofsky's previous features - left more questions than it provided answers.
As a study in the mental collapse of a promising young star, the film is haunting and brilliantly portrayed. But for me the realisation that we watch the film completely through Nina's eyes left me wondering just how much of the film we watched actually happened to the character, and how much of it is simply the manifestations of her own mental collapse.
Lily (Mila Kunis) is two extremes; innocent, joyful, happy, free and a conniving, backstabbing and two faced personification of the white swans evil twin. Thomas (Vincent Cassel) is the artistic director consumed by his passion with the arts, yet stereotypical in the position of the director taking sexual advantage of his young starlet. Erica (Barbara Hershey) as the domineering stage mother, wrapping her daughter in guilt and ownership, yet crying as she paints portrait after portrait of her daughter as a sad and isolated young lady.
There are several keys in the film that have led me to my perception of this film as being 90% Nina's delusions and 10% "reality" and it's a film I'll have to go and see a second time at the movies.
Black Swan is a masterpiece of psychological examination. Nina dreams of being a star, to the point that she steals innocent belongings from Beth's (Winona Ryder) dressing room.
My only fault with this film - and it will probably get me hung, drawn and quartered) is Natalie Portman. While her performance is beyond brilliant - and pretty much unbeatable now that the Awards season is here - I felt she was too old to play Nina. Throughout the film there are constant references to the life of a balllerina being bright, burning fast and burning out before they hit 30. For Nina to be only getting her shot at stardom when others dancers are "over the hill" made me question throughout the film whether a younger actress would have been more suitable.
This isn't a dig at Portman or her multi-layered, hauntingly brilliant performance. She was absolutely amazing as Nina. But I just couldn't get past the fact she was at the age the films says is the death of the ballerina's career, not the age of the young, desperate startlet chasing her dream.
Aronofsky rarely puts a foot wrong on his films. They are always haunting - I still need a stiff drink whenever I think about Requiem for a Dream - and his direction of Black Swan is awe-inspiring. The red herrings scattered throughout the film, the misdirections and the multiple perceptions of the audience at the end shows a true master in his element.
Black Swan is much more then the typical Hollywood cookie cutter movie we are used to seeing come out of the factory of dreams. It is a multi-layered, haunting film, that leaves the audience thinking after it is over and if you're anything like me, leaves you wondering if you should see it again to see if it changes your perception of the whole thing being Nina's delusions.
I can't recommend this film highly enough, it's not light, it's not fluffy and it's not one you'd go and see if you're after a laugh, but it's well worth the time it takes to watch it. For the first time in a long time I walked out of the cinema satisfied and yet hungry to go on the journey a second time.
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