MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Psychological Thriller/Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan, Toby Hemingway, Sergio Torrado, Mark Margolis, Tina Sloan/Runtime: 108 minutes
I think it is safe to say that film helmer Darren Aronofsky is one who has, as evidenced by pretty much his entire filmography, been blessed (or cursed dependent on perspective) with the gift of immersing an audience into a person’s psyche which then in turn presents a more complicated lens into who we are and how we view what we assume to be an objective reality. Perhaps one of the better examples of this is his brilliant film from 2000 known as Requiem for a Dream which is a slice of cinema that is unnerving yet also heart wrenching in how it shows a group of people who are hopelessly torn between their deep-rooted addiction to drugs yet also wanting a better life for themselves and how their addiction ultimately makes that all but impossible. Yet even though there is no denying that the man has managed to give us his fair share of films worth discussing, there is one that does to some degree stand above all the rest. That of course would be the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, 2010’s Black Swan and honestly it may be one that has proven to be quite divisive since its release, but I really dig the heck out of this movie dear reader. Indeed equal parts glamorous yet terrifying to say nothing of flashy yet also fairly low-key Black Swan is a genuinely great slice of cinema to say nothing of one of the most arresting psychological thrillers of the past two decades to say nothing of a genuinely nightmarish look at the terror found in the human mind to say nothing of the internal anguish felt when one tries to achieve a self-appointed level of perfection they could never hope to obtain.
The plot is as follows: Now on surface level, this slice of cinema gives off the vibe of being a narrative we’ve seen a million times before. With that said, the film tells us the story of a young woman by the name of Nina. A young woman, among other attributes, is a skilled and devoted member of the New York City Ballet who is eagerly awaiting the chance to take on the sought-after lead part in the ballet Swan Lake. A part, among other things, necessitates a grace and majesty for the White Swan, but also a no-holds barred and slightly wild child manner held by her wicked twin known as the Black Swan. However during her chance to show the tyrannical and chauvinistic company director that she has what it takes, we find her dream hitting an unexpected speed bump when he proceeds to tell her that while her take on the White Swan is brilliant, she just doesn’t have what it takes to be the Black Swan. However when our heroine decides to engage in a moment of atypical aggression, we see that it manages to thrill the director to the point that he gives our heroine the lead after all much to the sadness of the company’s current lead dancer who, as a result, is swiftly put out to pasture thereafter. At the same time though, we soon discover that our heroine is, surprise surprise, soon squaring off with a rival of sorts within the group in the form of her understudy Lily. A young woman who, among other things, has managed to impress Thomas since she is not stricken with our heroine’s lack of skill in blending together the grace and majesty of a ballet dance alongside a talent for going a little bit off-script shall we say than to be expected during a recital or performance. Yet even when she leaves the company for the day, we see that our heroine’s personal life is a bit of a mess as well. A fact that can be attributed to the fact that her mother may want her to be successful, but she also equally as much wants Nina to stay in her shadow, follow her rules to the letter, and basically treat our very much adult heroine like a child in a lot of disturbing ways. Thus with the pressure of the role she’s playing beginning to get to her to say nothing of her own fragile to begin with mental stability slowly but surely starting to ebb away like the tide, it isn’t long before things start taking a turn for the truly nightmarish. How far things go from there however I will leave for you to discover. Instead, I will just simply smile and say to you that all is most definitely not what they appear to be.
Now behind the camera it should be noted that Black Swan most assuredly is a riveting and quite the knee-jerking viewing experience from start to finish in the best way possible. Indeed film helmer Darren Aronofsky has managed to utilize a combination of what he was able to discover whilst helming both the gritty and no holds barred Mickey Rourke-starrer The Wrestler from 2008 as well as the psychologically terrifying to say nothing of downright unnerving Requiem for a Dream from 2000 respectively to sculpt for audiences a slice of cinema that, try as hard as you can, you will not be able to look away from. Yes he does do a wonderful job of taking his time with things in the beginning so as to set up both the world of the film as well as the cast of characters that inhabit it. With that said though, as soon as the first instance of gonzo madness occurs in this we see that from that moment on Aronofsky manages to give us one heck of a powerful slice of cinema. One incidentally that I also feel should be mentioned that, no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to figure out just what genre of movie magic this slice of cinema belongs to exactly. Now I know that there are those people who suspect that this film and The Wrestler are basically two distinct bisections to the same cinematic pie. However beyond revolving around the sacrifices to say nothing of immense struggles a pair of individuals go through in the name of being the best in their respective creative realms I would respectively say that after the comparisons between the two really aren’t that valid. A claim I can make based off the fact that this slice of cinema isn’t really a miniscule budgeted character analysis. Instead, this is a 13-million dollar budgeted slice of cinema that may be trying to say something about how far an artist is willing to go for their craft, but which has a primary focus at going back and forth between as riveting and truly terrifying as possible.
Yet even as the terrifying components begin to be given more of a spotlight in the back nine of this 18 hole cinematic course, the movie still does a wonderful job of not permitted either the arresting albeit uneasy atmosphere or the more graphic elements to completely override the other at any given time. I also think praise should be given at this time to the work done by the visual and editing departments behind the camera. Yes they do make the choice to utilize distinct shades of black and white quite often so we get the fairly crystal clear distinction between good and evil so to speak. At the same time however, Aronofsky does take delight in throwing out bits of vague and doubt throughout the entire film right down to what is seen by the audience in terms of backgrounds and designs of the various sets in the film. As a result, don’t be surprised if you find yourself trying to figure out at every given moment not only the director’s, but also the cast of characters’ honest reasons and goals throughout this. I also think praise should be given to just how slim in many ways this slice of cinema’s runtime is. This is because whereas a lot of slices of cinema of a similar ilk to this one often feel like they are just going and going with no end in sight, this one operates with a tempo that is just spot-on for this kind of movie. As a result, we see that the points in this film that may be a bit on the slow side are by no means stretched out. Rather they are just given enough in the way of padding the transition in the main character from being as innocent as the freshly driven snow to a person whose grip on reality is most assuredly in horrifying question as she manages to sink further and further into a land of madness and confusion beyond any that Phil Collins and Genesis would’ve sang about back in the day. Suffice it to say that yes this is bold and assertive film helming at its finest, but it’s also something else. Indeed this is also a film that manages to offer up definitive proof that the extremely intelligent helmsmanship present in Aronofsky’s prior slices of cinema are by no means outliers in any sense of the word much to his fans’ happiness, his critics’ aggravation, and my immense appreciation for what he and his creative team have managed to bring to the table with this film.
Now the other big component that makes this slice of nightmarish cinema work on the level that it does would have to be the downright electrifying performances from this film’s immensely talented cast. This starts with Natalie Portman in the lead role of Nina and she is absolutely phenomenal in this. Not just in being skilled enough to do the various ballet dances that are a vital part of her character or in terms of the moments where she is futilely trying to keep her already tenuous grip on reality from slipping away even further, but also in transforming this woman from someone who is a bit shy and reserved and keeps to herself into a character that is someone who is completely unlike a lot of the other characters that Portman has portrayed in her career. Sure it can be a bit unnerving, but honestly that is what makes it so effective. We also get a terrific performance in this from Vincent Cassel as the slimy and sleazy yet also very passionate company director even if there are moments where you will find yourself wondering if he really is as bad as we are seeing or if, maybe like a lot of other things in this movie, how we see him is being distorted somewhat because we are seeing things in this film through Nina’s perspective. I also really admired the work done in this by Barbara Hershey in the role of Nina’s mom. I say that because of how difficult it had to be to portray a woman who yes loves her daughter very much, but also to a degree resents her because of how much more successful she is and thus is consistently torn on which emotional state to express. Suffice it to say that it is a very delicate tight-rope to traverse, but I felt Hershey did so beautifully. Finally, I also praise must be given to Mila Kunis who does a remarkable job in the role of Lilly who proves to be a wonderful contrast to Portman’s Nina. Indeed this is a character who is by no means easy to play either because on one hand there is no doubt that she is a dancer in the company vying for the same role as our main character which requires dance training, but then given that we are seeing this through Nina’s eyes she also has to act in an villainous way that may seem exaggerated to us yet perfectly understandable to our mentally fracturing protagonist. Indeed it’s quite the daunting challenge for an actress to pull off yet kudos to Kunis for making it work brilliantly. Thus even though a lot of the awards attention may have gone to Portman for her role in this (and deservedly so), the truth is everyone in this cast deserves to be appreciated for what they bring to the cinematic table here.
All in all it really doesn’t surprise me in the least that, since its release all the way back in 2010, the slice of cinema known as Black Swan has managed to acquire such divided feedback in regards to the people who have chosen to sit down and give it a watch. After all, it’s not every day that a movie goer gets to watch a slice of cinema that seems to be a distinct melodrama latte blend of both indie concepts as well as fairly trashy sensations of a psychosexual nature respectively. Yet even though it seems that film helmer Darren Aronofsky is blazing a new trail in walking the thin line that exists at the cinematic crossroads where not only the obscure and the conventional come together, but also the psychological and the quite emotional as well respectively. Indeed there are several iconic film helmers whose stamp of influence can be felt throughout this slice of cinema from Hitchcock and Cronenberg all the way to Lynch. A talented trio to be sure, but also all film helmers who in their own ways managed to, like this film’s director, do a terrific job at mixing distinct genre components with more elevated ambitions of a philosophical nature. As compared to those titans of cinema however, this slice of cinema from Aronofsky is one that has more of an emphasis on the mainstream side of things right down to explain things where another slice of cinema similar to it would just delight in having you interpret things for yourself. Yet even with that in mind, there is no denying that Black Swan is very much a bold and risk-taking kind of film to say nothing of one that doesn’t get to be in theaters as much as I might like. Sure the overabundance of CGI in this might be as obvious as a mosquito bite on your thumb you’d like to scratch despite your doctor continuously advising not to, but even with that on the table there is no denying that this film is one of the finest entries in the 2010’s filmography to say nothing of being a gorgeous, riveting, and downright unnerving analysis of that tight rope between brilliance and insanity as well as being a slice of cinema that chooses to explore just how far a performer might be willing to go to be nothing but the absolute best. Suffice it to say that Black Swan is a phenomenally made to say nothing of cast living nightmare of a story that not only will stay with you long after it’s over, but is also one slice of cinema that manages to firmly establish film helmer Darren Aronofsky as one of the most integral film helmers operating in the land of movie magic nowadays. (And yes that is taking into account both Noah and Mother! from 2014 and 2017 respectively). Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Black Swan “2010” a solid 4 out of 5.
