Black Swan

Release Year: 2010

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Review:  Daren Aronofsky shifts from body slams and headlocks to pirouettes and Passés, creating a perfect companion piece to ‘The Wrestler’ with ‘Black Swan’. In ‘The Wrestler’ we presented with a portrait of man in the twilight of his career, having given up his body and his life to the sport he loved.Here an uptight perfectionist dancer, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), is on the brink of breaking out when she is cast as the lead in ‘Swan Lake’. The ballet requires her to portray both the role of the pure White Swan, as well as the sensual Black Swan. Nina is a flawless White Swan, but struggles letting go of her self and has trouble embodying the Black Swan. As she struggles for perfection the stress has a traumatic effect on her mind, causing her to literally envision herself turning into a swan.

The film has a dark overtone, intertwining horror and suspense as Nina slowly loses her mind. It is disorienting to watch her mind slip away from her. It is a struggle to determine what is real and what is a figment of her failing psychosis. This was actually one of my few problems with the movie, which I enjoyed very much. I appreciated the overall tone, but the horror aspects went bit over the top at times when I would have liked a subtler approach to convey Nina’s deteriorating state of mind. There were times where I thought Aronofsky was trying too hard to hard to amplify the creepiness of Nina losing her mind, when it was not needed.

Before I even sat down to watch the movie, I have to admit I was unfairly judging the film. I could not help but compare this movie with the 1948 classic, ‘The Red Shoes’ which I watched a couple months before ‘Black Swan’. To be fair, the two movies are trying to do completely different things. That said, there are some notable similarities that parallel one another. Both focus on a dancer seeking perfection, a ballet that blurs the lines of the plot ballet and the reality the dancer, both feature an overbearing and pompous director—the list goes on. Comparing these elements individually minimizes the impact of ‘Black Swan’ because the ‘Red Shoes’ simply does it better. Specifically, Vincent Cassel portrayal of the ballet director mirrors very closely to the director role in the ‘Red Shoes’ played by Anton Walbrook. While Cassel does a fine job, Walbrook’s performance is one of the best of all time, making Cassel’s role seem like cheap knockoff. Again, these two films are very different so they really shouldn’t be compared, however certain elements stick out like a sore thumb when viewed in light of ‘Red Shoes’ and challenged me not to judge it even more critically.

While Cassel’s may be no Walbrook, his performance was still strong, playing a role that requires him to be both hated and admired, feared and respected. Pulling off this dichotomy of characteristics required Cassel to walk a tightrope between being over the top evil and too soft. He manages to pull off this complex role, as did the rest of the cast, all playing taxing roles. Natalie Portman has gotten a lot of praise for her role, and for the most part I agree with it. It takes a lot of physical training to transform into a dancer, and she did a remarkable job. My one problem was that a look of utter bewilderment, pain and confusion never left her face the entire movie. Granted, her character was going through all of these emotions, but somehow even when others seemed to be impressed by her dancing, she always had an uncomfortable look about her. It was difficult for me to buy her even getting the lead part, never mind someone not raising concern for her mental health when it was so apparent she was not well. I’m not saying it was necessarily Portman’s performance, but it was a detail that took me out of the otherwise immersive world.

Aronofsky crafted an intense mind-bending thriller out of a movie about dancing. It was more than that though. It’s about the need for perfection, about the limits that someone obsessed with a goal will go to for their passion. No physical or mental price was too high a price for Nina to reach her perceived purpose. She lived not for love, money or power, but simply to dance. Much like ‘The Wrestler’ we get a peek inside the life of someone consumed by their passion, doing the only thing they know how to do. ‘Black Swan’ is a beautiful film that shows the struggle to achieve perfection without covering up all the gritty, unpleasant details.

Rating: 4.5/5