Today’s quick review: Black Swan. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a ballerina for a prestigious ballet company, lands the role of her career: the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. To master the part, Nina needs not only technical perfection but to get in touch with her darker, more impulsive side. To do so, she spends time with Lily (Mila Kunis), a free-spirited fellow dancer. But as stress and new experiences collide, Nina begins to lose her grip on reality.
Black Swan is a psychological horror movie about a dancer pushed to the brink of sanity. Nina’s world gradually becomes a labyrinth of distrust and hallucination, one that only gets worse as she nears her opening night performance. The film features artful cinematography, shocking but effective imagery, and powerful themes of perfection, repression, and beauty. Black Swan makes for an unsettling watch, but a rewarding one.
Black Swan is packed with disturbing imagery that ranges from the mundane to the shocking. Director Darren Aronofsky maintains a light touch for much of the film, conveying Nina’s psychological state through an oppressive atmosphere and ambiguously sinister moments. But every few minutes, he shocks the audience with a glimpse of something truly malign: blood or injury, inexplicable transformations, abrupt scares, and scenes that blur fantasy and reality.
These visions increase in frequency and severity throughout the movie. Nina’s struggles mirror those of her character in Swan Lake, but the film leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Natalie Portman fits the role almost perfectly, and she’s backed by a capable supporting cast that includes Mila Kunis as Lily, her wilder counterpart, and Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy, her alluring director.
Watch Black Swan when you are in the mood for an abstract, artistic mystery with a dark tone. Black Swan is a finely crafted and tantalizingly surreal film. Its mature subject matter, open-ended mysteries, and shock value are not for everyone, but those whose tastes line up the right way will appreciate it for its vision and polish. Steer clear if you are squeamish or prefer films with clear answers.
For an animated psychological thriller that explores similar themes, try Perfect Blue. For a dark fantasy with a similar sense of foreboding, try Pan’s Labyrinth. For an upbeat, equally surreal drama about the theater, try Birdman. For a surreal fantasy with an unreliable narrator, try The Fall.
8.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 to 8.0 for delivering a powerful psychological trip.