Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey
Nina (Portman), is a precise, controlled, and beautiful ballet dancer in a major dance company in New York, who finally gets her big break; the lead role in their upcoming production, Swan Lake. But while her virginal innocence and determination are perfect for her performance of the White Swan, she doesn't have the raw sexuality and edge to play the character's dark twin, the Black Swan. The new girl in the company, Lily (Kunis), seems to possess the qualities that Nina lacks. Can Lily help Nina to loosen up, and become the perfect Swan Queen, or is she just after her role?
Aronofsky's been hit-or-miss for me; I respect the guy, but none of his films have really resonated with me before. Black Swan is kind of a "Best Of" of his previous work. You've got the gritty realism of The Wrestler; the operatic fatalism from Requiem For A Dream; the paranoia of Pi; the "What the hell is going on here?"-ness of The Fountain. Some people are calling this a horror film (it's even the cover story in the new issue of Fangoria), and while I wouldn't argue against that analysis, I don't entirely agree. It has horror elements, to be sure, and no other film from 2010 is likely to put you less at ease, but to pigeonhole it in one genre is too limiting. It's terrifying, erotic, exuberant, and beautiful. I've never seen anything quite like it, with the possible exception of The Red Shoes. Except, imagine that movie. . . sweatier. And directed by a young David Cronenberg.
Natalie Portman was born for this role, having made a career out of portraying asexual beauties. Ballet director Thomas' (Cassel) concerns about Nina's performance were the same as my concerns about Portman's performance as a stripper in the movie Closer; neither of us buy her as a seductress. As Nina strives to sell her audience on the Black Swan, Portman does the same. I don't want to say exactly how it turns out, but I will say that Portman nails what she has to do. This is the flip-side of a traditional "sports" protagonist; instead of the plucky underdog that we root on to victory, Nina is a perfectionist that we're hoping won't come unhinged by the time the show premieres.
The film could come off a misogynistic, since it seems to be about Nina's struggle between her "Virgin" and "Whore" sides, and there aren't really any sympathetic women in the film. The company members are generally "catty", her mom (Hershey) is a bitter looney tune, and Lily is a wild card who could be up to no good. It's entirely possible that it is a criticism of women's culture, maybe as much as The Wrestler showed the limitations of machismo. Aronofsky has called this film a "companion piece" to The Wrestler, since they were originally conceived as one combined film, and that clearly resonates on several levels.
Aronofsky reached for the stars on this one, and I would say came back with his best film. Too horrifying for the older crowd, too female-centric and introspective for the horror crowd, and just generally too smart for mainstream audiences; this is one unique film that stands amongst the best of the year. Finally, an Aronofsky film that I can whole-heartedly embrace.
FREDERICK OPINES: MASTERPIECE
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