The countless men who feel that being dragged to a ballet with their female companions is boring are in for a rude awakening when they see Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, an aggressively paced, twisted film that leaves your head spinning faster than a well-executed pirouette.
In the film, Natalie Portman plays Nina, a young and delicate ballerina tapped to dance the dual leads in Swan Lake. She has the innocence to play the White Swan but is encouraged to explore her dark side by her demanding director (Vincent Cassel). With an overzealous stage parent of a mother (Barbara Hershey) and a pretty and talented newcomer challenging her for the role (Mila Kunis), doing so is hardly difficult for Nina, who it is established early is far from mentally stable to begin with. As the ballet’s opening approaches, though, Nina’s mind is overtaken by the darkness and, like the character she represents, she is overtaken by the Black Swan.
Portman, who has been the toast of awards season, is phenomenal in her best role outside of V for Vendetta. It’s no coincidence that someone so small and pretty would be selected for the White Swan, but it’s her descent into madness that demands attention. Hershey also shines in her own manic role, though the character is in need of back story. Kunis, all sex and danger, provides a great contrast to Portman.
Aronofsky’s direction, meanwhile, is both brilliant and maddening. His shaky-cam style refuses to let viewers settle into the movie, almost provoking them before the film’s more nightmarish scenes start to take over. His production team throws in some brilliant special effects work that enhances the terror. You scoff at Cassel’s character when he says he wants to reimagine and modernize Swan Lake, but when you realize that Aronofsky has done exactly that, you find yourself grateful for the effort.
**** of 5
I dunno. I have to disagree with you here. A bit, anyway.
The issues I took with the film had more to do with the script and storyline than the actual direction. Aronofsky has managed to jump from genre to genre reasonably well – bringing his own specific style along with him. Like Danny Boyle used to do… back when he had an imagination. The whole film was spooky and, like you said, “maddening.” Well done, there.
But the overall idea of it? The tired, vaguely sexist subdivision of a woman’s sexuality down to whore or virgin? The film as a parable of a woman’s desperate attempt to attain a sense of perfection, whether in the eyes of men or family or their profession? I don’t mean to sound insensitive here… but do we really need another movie that does this? And in such unimaginative terms (see: the overuse of black and white imagery to the point of near-parody)?
I’m being a bit harsh here. I don’t mean to be. I thought the movie was alright. Spooky and entertaining. And, to be frank, I’d watch Mila Kunis do pretty much anything (pay her taxes, eat soup, clip her toenails). But is this movie an improvement upon his previous work? No, I don’t think so. In fact, I think it’s disappointing when you consider how good some of his earlier films were.
Totally not a best picture. In my opinion, anyway.
But, then again, I don’t support almost all of the nominations for Best Picture this year. Or any year, for that matter.
<3
I don’t disagree with some of your problems with the movie, Andrew. I think the script was a little underdeveloped, particularly in outlining the mother’s motivations. I don’t think it belongs in Best Picture conversations either (the tag is there to group it with the other nominees), but I think the execution of the spookiness, especially in the third act, was great.