Black Swan

(2010)

Directed by

Darren Aronofsky

Review by Todd Plucknett

Posted - 12/23/10

Darren Aronofsky, in just over a decade, has become one of the most reliable and brilliant voices in the independent film industry. Starting out with the crazy mind-trip Pi, then to the devastating Requiem for a Dream, to the overly-ambitious The Fountain, and to the flawless The Wrestler, he has already established himself as a force to be reckoned with. Finally, he has his Oscar movie, which comes in the most unlikely of sources. Black Swan is a film that will grab hold of the audience with its very first shot and will not let it go. Aronofsky is a genius, and this wild, melodramatic masterpiece showcases that truth.

Black Swan centers on Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), an insanely dedicated ballet dancer who has always been looking for the lead in one of the dances by Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). She is technically the best dancer in the company. However, she is so concerned with perfection that she cannot make the dances authentic, which has always been holding her back. Thomas constantly tells her, “Let go. Lose yourself.” Basically, he wants her to be more like Lily (Mila Kunis), a new dancer who is a total free-spirit and makes everything sexy and effortless. Eventually, Nina gets the lead in Thomas’s interpretation of Swan Lake, which requires her to be the evil twin of the main character as well the pure protagonist, requiring much more than technical perfection. This, along with a constant feud with her over-protective and seemingly psychotic mother (Barbara Hershey), forms the basis for this intense, beautiful, and dizzying spectacle.

This film is an actor’s dream. Natalie Portman is able to show off her chops here with a performance that is constantly emotional and one that required a lot of physically-demanding stunts. She completely embodied Nina, and she is never anything less than spellbinding. She should win an Oscar for this without a doubt. Mila Kunis is also getting a ton of good ink for her role as the rival to Nina. She is such a fresh face and voice that I cannot help but love her in everything she does. This performance is not one that wins awards, but it is so believable and effective that she is doing just that. I am solidly on her bandwagon. Vincent Cassel is great as usual. He has a couple scenes where he really shines. Winona Ryder is solid in her small part, playing essentially the older version of Nina. Finally, we come to Barbara Hershey, one of my favorites. Why does she not work much anymore? In the ‘80s, she was as good as anyone. She is fantastic here, almost in a Debra Winger in Rachel Getting Married way. Good to know Aronofsky is with me on that. He suddenly made her relevant again, proving that not one ounce of that talent has been lost.

Aronofsky is one brilliant director. He is the embodiment of the term auteur. Even when the film is at its most shocking and weird, it still feels like Aronofsky. It is filmed fairly closely to The Wrestler, but that is not even it. His tone and grit in making everyday life compelling is astonishing. I cannot imagine what another director would have done with an insane ballerina script like this one. When he makes a film, he is committed. There is a reason he has not made too many of them. He really is the next Kubrick. Every actor says that Aronofsky is the most demanding director they have worked with. He puts them through hell to realize his vision, and it almost always comes out flawless. Black Swan is a great companion piece to The Wrestler, which also was basically about a performing art, showing the determination and physical and psychological toll it can take on the performer. These scripts could not have fallen into better hands.

There is a fair amount of symbolism in the film. Most notably, Nina is always dressed in white, while Lily is always in black. This is a not-so-subtle way of implying that Nina is the White Swan, and Lily is the Black Swan. Their lives begin paralleling the characters in the ballet. Nina also begins hallucinating when she dives into her character to the extent that it actually begins physically hurting her. This is the kind of film that Showgirls wanted to be, until it becomes somewhat of a cross between The Red Shoes and Suspiria. Some of the visuals may even bring to mind David Lynch. The heavy-breathing and trippy elements definitely give off a Mulholland Dr.-style vibe. All of it is part of Aronofsky’s vision though, and the payoff for all of it is just incredible and undeniably haunting.

So, should you see this movie? Yes, by all means necessary. It is one of the absolute best films of the year. Even when it is at its wackiest and most graphic, you cannot take your eyes off of it. The final dance sequences, much like that of The Red Shoes, are breathtaking and will leave you completely spellbound. When the credits begin rolling, the audience will not know what just hit them. I hope that wide audiences will not just pass this movie up, simply because it is about ballerinas. It is so much more than that. This is Aronofsky at his most unplugged, and it is never less than fascinating.

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