Black Swan is an Exceptional, Visceral Thriller
Black Swan lures us into the main character’s world of frailty and nervous innocence against underlying obsession and greed. Natalie Portman as ballerina Nina Sayers brilliantly captures both aspects of her role in this psychological thriller, so much so that other characters are dwarfed and the viewer is left with nails bitten as severely as Nina’s.
Horror Queen Says: Bloody Thumbs Up!
Written by BHM Editor Horror Queen
December 3, 2010
Released: December 3, 2010 (U.S. Limited Theatrical)
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Written by: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John J. McLaughlin
Starring:
Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers
Mila Kunis as Lily
Vincent Cassel Thomas Leroy
Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers
Winona Ryder as Beth Macintyre
Nina Sayers is a young ballerina vying for the lead role of Swan Queen in New York City’s latest production of Swan Lake. The daughter of a former dancer, Nina’s world is consumed by her profession. She rarely speaks and in many ways is still a child, wearing baby pink and sleeping with stuffed animals, behaviors that are likely due to both her mother’s encouragement and her own myopic obsession with her craft.
When the play’s director, Thomas taps Nina for a chance at the lead role, he shares with her his apprehension that she is ideal as the beautiful and graceful ‘White Swan’ but lacks the sensual and sinister ‘Black Swan’ side of the character, which Nina then spends the rest of the film trying desperately to evoke for him.
Despite Thomas’s trepidation as he offers her the role, we can actually see that Nina does have a dark side. Aside from her striving to dance ‘perfectly’, she’s afflicted with self-mutilation and eating disorders and is prone to hallucinations – all which she tries desperately to hide. Ironically, Nina’s dark side is so dark in fact, that we fear her ‘Black Swan’ will eventually destroy her, whether she embodies it on stage or not.
When the captivating new dancer, Lily, is first introduced to Nina she panics. Although she doesn’t speak about it we can literally feel the fear she experiences in losing her role to someone else. Yet Nina is also innocent enough to trust the clearly not-to-be-trusted Lily with both her personal feelings and eventually her physical well-being. It is in this recklessness that Nina risks losing everything.
Director Darren Aronofsky has proven himself more than adept at leading us through the chilling journey of obsessive pursuit with an intense performance of the main character (The Wrestler and now Black Swan). He also makes compelling the downfall of the aging performer, in this case Wynona Ryder as the now pathetic and desperate former Swan Queen, Beth Macintyre.
All performances in Black Swan are solid. And there’s no doubt it’s a gripping, albeit overcast tale in and of itself. But Natalie Portman’s multi-layered character and powerful portrayal of that character are what make it an exceptional and must see film.
4 Freak Heads (out of 5)
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