Black Swan (***½)

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder

Seen: February 6^th 2011

***½ Out of ****

The previous movie that altogether disturbed and intrigued and unsettled and simply blew me away as much as Black Swan was Requiem for a Dream, also directed by Darren Aronofsky, 11 years ago. Black Swan, in its portrayal of an obsessive ballerina, is not only dark, it is as deeply unsettling as it is brilliant.

Nina Sayers (Portman) is a ballerina in her mid-20’s who dreams of being nothing if not perfect. She has been raised by one of the most overbearing and controlling mothers you’re likely to see on screen in Erica Sayers (Hershey), and has, as such, never been allowed to actually grow up (Erica actually helps Nina undress in the evenings when she gets home). Nina is a little girl who wants to please her mother in becoming perfect at any cost, even if that means harming her mother to get there. When her company starts rehearsals for the Swan Queen in a new production of Swan Lake, Nina sets her sights upon the lead role, and through some pleading and luck, Thomas Leroy (Cassel), the ballet director, casts Nina in the role.

Nina’s technical proficiency as a ballerina is beyond question, and Thomas clearly states that, but she will have to loosen up if she is to successfully portray both the innocent and fragile White Swan and the passionate and seductive Black Swan. For the former she is more than ready, but for the latter there is growth required. She has such an overpowering urge to become the perfect Swan Queen that she starts experiencing vivid and elaborate hallucinations, which the viewer can initially not quite easily bracket as either ethereally unreal or downright disturbing. The movie’s mental trajectory follows the same path as that of Nina’s perception of herself and those around her, and as a result spirals wildly out of control as Nina teeters closer to the edge of complete insanity in her need to reach perfection.

Thomas tells Nina that she needs to become more like a new dancer in their company, Lily (Kunis), who is not as technically adept as Nina, but exhibits a free-flowing passion perfect for the role of the Black Swan. Nina gets involved with Lily in her drive to understand a more relaxed point of view, and her perception of Lily never quite allows the viewer to accurately pinpoint whether Lily is after Nina’s role or whether she is truly there to support her in becoming the Swan Queen, as the movie relates events from Nina’s perspective, and not from a neutral stand-point, and thus shows Lily as a character with confusing and shifting motives.

Natalie Portman is utterly convincing in her role as the massively insecure Nina Sayers, and she deserves whatever accolades might be coming her way for this. Mila Kunis is just as impressive as Lily, as she inhabits a role based on a distorted and shifting perception of someone, and she pulls it off without breaking a sweat. Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey both intimidate the viewer with their overbearing characters controlling and contaminating Nina’s mind. And even in her small bit-part Winona Ryder shines and creates a jaded ballerina for whom Nina allows far too much influence. Darren Aronofsky truly has a talent for getting under the skin of viewers, and I believe he truly pushes the envelope with Black Swan, creating a monster that cannot be ignored in the cinematic universe. Black Swan is great, but also very disturbing.