Black Swan

Black Swan is this beautiful yet disturbing thriller set in the world of ballet. It's like a crazy fever dream where there is little room for reality. To say director Darren Aronofsky is fearless is an understatement. This is the man, afterall, who brought us Pi and Requiem for a Dream (which is, arguably, the most depressing movie I have ever seen in my entire life). He has said Black Swan is a companion piece for his last excellent outing, The Wrestler, and I can't say that I disagree. The two films definitely have their similarities - the manic pacing, the behind the scenes feel, the search for perfection, and definitely the endings. However, I think Black Swan is a better film. At the very least, it's definitely more beautiful looking.
Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a dancer in the ballet company who wants to be perfect and strives to be a star. She is a good technical dancer, but lacks passion and intensity. She gets to audition for the lead in Swan Lake and while the demanding, seductive director of the company (Vincent Cassel) thinks she would make the perfect White Swan, he doesn't quite see her as the dangerous and sensual Black Swan. Newcomer to the company Lily (Mila Kunis), however, is perfect for the Black Swan. She's got a back tattoo, for Christ's sake! In the end, Thomas chooses Nina anyway. So, then we get to the good stuff. Nina has to struggle to find her sensuality (Thomas suggest she go home and touch herself). She also has to deal with jealousy from the other dancers and bitter resentment from Beth (Winona Ryder!!!), the aging star who is being pushed into retirement and is none too happy about it. Nina also has to deal with her super over protective stage mother (Barbara Hershey) who treats her like she's 12. To say Nina cracks under all the pressure is an understatement. But what is real, and what is all inside our pretty little ballerina's head? Is she really pulling swan feathers out of her skin? Is Lily really trying to steal her role? Is she really making out with boys at bars and girls in her bedroom? Is she really turning into the black swan she is so desperately trying to find a way to inhabite on stage? Black Swan is a wonderfully thrilling film, trying - and not trying, really - to answer all of those questions.
Natalie Portman is revelatory as Nina. At the beginning, she's meek and naive, sweet, innocent, seeking perfection but never raising her voice. By the end, she's a cracked and broken version of herself - all seduction and intensity and passion. Portman, who is so often rigid in many of her movies, really let's herself become this character and it's her best role to date, by a mile. She most certainly deserves that Oscar come March (sorry Annette Bening!). Mila Kunis is also quite surprising. Best known as comedic Jackie on That 70s Show, Kunis, who looks shockingly like Portman, is all raw sexuality. She's charming, seducing both Portman and the audience. Hershey is perfect as the overprotective mom, watching her sweet daughter transform right before her eyes. And is all of this her fault for pushing her too hard? You can see in her eyes that she wonders the same thing. Cassel is impressive as well as the lecherous director. Then there is my girl Winona! It's so good to have her back in a worthwhile movie. Sure, she's only in it for a few scenes, but they are key scenes and she nails the bitterness of a once hot young thing being pushed into oblivion (oh, wait! the irony!). Portman's Nina wants to steal her lipstick and her earrings to become more like her... and who wouldn't want to be like Winona, the it girl of the 90s, making a long-awaited comeback in a fabulous arthouse film?
To be frank, Black Swan is a beautiful mind fuck of a movie. And, really, what's better than that?
Grade: A