Black Swan

Black Swan

Director Darren Aronofsky creates an entirely new spin on how to present the timeless ballet classic Swan Lake.  Enlisting names such as Natalie Portman, Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, and Winona Ryder gave Aronofsky the ability to pirouette into an Oscar nod for Best Picture in 2011.  Although the film did not garner the award, Natalie Portman was able to capture the Best Actress prize.

Although I am not an enthusiast on all things ballet, I tried to sit down and give this film a fair shake.  Michelle and I had agreed on reviewing the entire Oscar nominated films for Best Picture (2011).  Since we had already reviewed The King’s Speech, we decided to broaden our horizons and attack Black Swan.

The movie begins with a dream-like dance sequence showing Nina Sayers (Portman) as the star attraction in Swan Lake.  The naturally talented yet bashful and backwards Sayers is a ballerina for a New York ballet company, which will soon release their director’s, Thomas Leroy (Cassel), version of the archetypal ballet piece.  Nina becomes obsessed with obtaining the role as she believes her shelf-life as a ballerina is dangerously close to expiring.

As would be expected, Nina is selected as one of the individuals to audition for the part of the Queen.  After a short deliberation period and much to her surprise, Thomas chooses Nina as his headliner.  His only concern is that she is pure as the driven snow and questions whether she will be able to pull off the dark and mysterious persona of the black swan. 

Nina heads home to let her mother, Erica (Hershey), in on the great news.  Her mother is initially excited about the role; however, as the movie progresses Erica becomes concerned about the mental well-being of her daughter.  She begins to notice the strange behavior and self-mutilation that Nina exhibits.  As Erica attempts to help, she pushes Nina farther away, which leads to a strange friendship with a rival ballerina named Lily (Kunis).

As Nina continues her conversion into the black swan, she becomes more and more delusional.  She believes that Lily is out to steal her role and is doing everything possible to undermine her credibility with Thomas.  The struggle between the two culminates when Nina returns to her dressing room and Lily is dressed as the black swan.  Incensed by the betrayal of her fellow dancer, the two come to blows and Nina kills Lily before she returns to the stage for her transformational performance as the black swan.  I will not ruin the ending for you, but ultimately, her delusions end up creating her perfect reality.

This film for me was a bit difficult to sit through.  Yes, it had all the drama and twists, but it just didn’t seem to keep my attention.  I’m not really sure how it was selected to be awarded an Oscar for Best Film.  I absolutely understand Portman winning Best Actress as she was able to move between light and happy to dark and twisty.  I thought she was really the only bright spot in this entire film.  I give Black Swan three stars.  If you haven’t had a chance to see this movie, you may want to keep it that way.  The King's Speech was in another league compared to this film.

That's How Matt Sees It!