In Review: Black Swan

Usually I have a hard time understanding why someone dislikes I movie that I love. "Black Swan" may be the exception to that rule. More on my disclaimer later. I found it completely engrossing and a return to form for its director Darren Aronofsky. I consider his "Requiem for a Dream" to be one of the most powerful examples of cinematic art while his last outing "The Wrestler" I found vapid and a complete waste of time and the talents involved.

"Black Swan" centers around a ballerina named Nina (Natalie Portman) who lives to dance and nothing more. She is completely consumed by her craft. The plot? Nina's ballet company is putting on a production of Swan Lake and she wants to be the swan queen. The problem is that the director (Vincent Cassel) doesn't think she can pull off the role. He doesn't buy her as both the black swan and the white swan. Perhaps I should back it up and explain in a nutshell the plot of Swan Lake. A princess is turned into a swan and can only be turned back into a human by the love of a prince. But the prince is seduced by the black swan so the white swan kills herself.

What unfolds in "Black Swan" is life imitating art. What's holding Nina back, at least according to the director, is that she doesn't lose herself in her dancing. She is technically splendid but struggles at making it look effortless. As the story unfolds, we see Nina go from a talented, driven dancer to an ultra-competitive psychotic dancer.

"Black Swan" takes us into the physical and psychological demands of being a professional dancer. The dance company is a team to be sure, but the animosity is on full display. The central example is the rivalry between Nina and Lily (Mila Kunis). Lily just fits right in with the company and Nina feels threatened by her natural talent. When Nina is cast as the swan queen the gloves are off. Nina starts to lose it in a variety of ways. Nina's struggle to completely nail her part is a descent into complete psychosis. Just like in "Requiem for a Dream," Aronofsky shows here how to convey on film a person's descent into madness. The way Nina starts to lose touch with reality is reminiscent of how Aronofsky showed the reality of people on drugs in "Requiem."

It's fascinating to see how the main character in "Black Swan" experiences the plot of Swan Lake in real life. The story had me on the edge of my seat and not bored for one second. Not too many movies can do that lately it seems.

The movie is a triumph, especially for it's star, Natalie Portman. With "Black Swan" she has finally been given the star vehicle she has more than earned. It's only fair for the actress who gave credibility to the Star Wars prequels because, let's be honest, the acting was not the strong point of those movies. She could easily have phoned it in because she was in Star Wars after all and everyone would be more interested in the special effects. Instead she used it as learning experience and she got noticed. Then came "Garden State," one of the last great romantic comedies, "V for Vendetta," and now "Black Swan." In addition to pulling off the dialogue she also had to be a convincing dancer. Boy is she ever! Without that the movie would have sunk. This is her best performance to date and I do believe it will garner her a well-deserved Oscar nomination. Hopefully she makes many more movies because she is one of the finest actresses in Hollywood.

It must also be mentioned that the rest of the cast is stellar as well, especially Mila Kunis as her rival Lily and Barbra Hershey as her controlling mother. Kudos all around!

Now, back to my disclaimer. I for one loved "Black Swan," but I will completely understand if some people hate it. If you're not into ballet and all the work it takes to be in that profession, you will be bored. The other thing that may turn people off is the intense psychological and physical torture Nina goes through and the way her psychosis manifests itself. People may find it over the top, but I did not. If I were to summarize this movie in one sentence I would describe it as a cross between "The Turning Point" and "Jacob's Ladder." For me this was one of the best films of 2010. I urge you to see it and make your own conclusions.

Side note: The more movies about dance I see the more I appreciate what it takes to be a great dancer. If this movie gets you more interested in dancing I would recommend checking out "The Company," one of Robert Altman's last films about a ballet company and all the work that goes into putting on a show.