"Black Swan" review by Ben Kenber

JESUS CHRIST!!! That was my immediate reaction after witnessing Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” a movie I have impatiently been waiting to see for ages. A combination of “The Wrestler” and “Requiem For A Dream” with a dose of “Rosemary’s Baby” thrown in for good measure, it is a brilliantly over the top psychosexual thriller that continually ratchets up suspense and tension all the way to its horrifying climax. And unlike Mia Farrow’s character in “Rosemary’s Baby,” Natalie Portman has a really nice haircut.

Just as it was with “The Wrestler,” “Black Swan” serves as an expose sorts on the athletic arena it focuses on. The backstage world of ballet dancing is highly competitive to say the least, and the career of a dancer can easily be short lived if an unexpected injury however small occurs. Many may see ballet as being very boring and would rather tune into Monday Night Football. Try dragging kids to a production of “The Nutcracker” and watch how they run for the hills. This is the reaction I get from most people I know, although I’m sure there are exceptions.

But don’t let any preconceptions about ballet turn you off though from seeing this film. It is anything but boring, and both Aronofsky and Portman brilliantly capture the physically and psychologically draining aspects of ballet to where you feel as wiped out and crazed as they are. Like any other art form, ballet demands years of training in order to reach a level of “perfection” that few can reach. It is also shown to be an isolating career because with so many people going after the same lead role, making friends is a struggle as you wonder what they say behind your back. With the bitterness level sky high, ballet threatens to be more damaging psychologically than physically.

Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a member of a prominent New York City ballet company. After years of hard work, she gets her lucky break when she snags the lead role in the “Swan Lake,” a show that is as overdone as many of Neil Simon’s plays. This show has one of the most coveted roles in any ballet show as it is incredibly challenging. She has to play the White Swan who is a creature of innocence, and also the Black Swan who is one of a sensual and dark nature. Basically, it is the ballet dancer’s “Hamlet.” While her director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) thinks she is perfect as the White Swan, he has doubts about her ability to play the Black Swan in that she is so technically precise in her movements, and the latter role requires her really lose herself in the passionately dark nature of her character.

Once we see Nina walk down the streets of New York past a woman who looks exactly like her, we are caught up in a downward spiral that she is helpless to stop. We watch as she encounters people and situations that feel real, but which later turn out to be nothing more than hallucinations. There are times where she even looks like she is turning into a swan. While they may sound ridiculous on paper, it is brilliantly conceived visual from the rash on Nina’s back to those blood red eyes she develops. There are even points where Nina is dancing in front of a mirror, and her reflection turns around to glare at her malevolently.

The line between what is real and what is not becomes completely blurred, and neither we the audience nor Nina are able to tell the difference between the two. Many may be maddened at not being able to understand all that’s happening, but that’s precisely the point. Aronofsky’s puts you directly into Nina’s mindset which is already at an emotionally fragile place, and we are instantly caught up in her mental disintegration. This makes “Black Swan” all the more visceral to experience. We are not just watching Nina go mad, we feel like we are going mad with her.

Natalie Portman truly does give the performance of her career here. She trained in ballet for a year or so, and her preparation has truly paid off. Throughout, she captures the sweet nature of her character as well as the paranoia and resentment that overwhelms Nina the closer she gets to the opening performance. Watching her practice to no end is emotionally exhausting as it is for her physically, and she makes us feel like we are right on the edge of disaster with her. Natalie has always been an amazing actress, but her work in “Black Swan” represents the culmination of a great career that is more than ready to head into adulthood (she can’t be the sweet girl forever folks).

Mila Kunis, looking even sexier than she did in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” co-stars as fellow dancer Lily. Unlike Nina, she is free with her body and mind, and what she lacks in precision she makes up for with unbridled passion. She’s at times friendly, wanting to break the ice between her and Nina, and her power of seduction is one Nina desperately wants to capture for herself. Mila has really become an increasingly fascinating actress, and seeing her go from sweet to a cold back stabber of a human being is made very believable by her work.

Oh yeah, there is a sex scene between Natalie and Mila which will have people checking out “Black Swan” for all the wrong reasons. Then again, any reason to get people to see this film might not be so bad. Anyway, to dismiss this as a simple lesbian sex scene will only show how short sighted you are.

Aronofsky again employs his frequent collaborators to excellent effect here. His director of photography Matthew Libatique almost makes this look like a remake of “Suspiria” as the colors become overpowering as they get blacker and infinitely more vicious. “Black Swan” is as much a sensory experience as it is a psychological one, just like “Requiem For A Dream.” Matthew makes the special effects appear seamless in scenes where CGI is clearly utilized. As the background dancers pass by her, Nina sees her face in all of them. It’s so eerie that it doesn’t even seem like a special effect.

Then there is the fantastic Clint Mansell whose work on Aronofsky’s movies has become like a main character. Clint takes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and breathes fresh life into it that is exhilarating to listen to. His score becomes as intense as the images we see on screen, and I love how visceral and thrillingly alive it all feels. Of course, because he used previously written music, the Academy has ruled him ineligible for an Oscar nomination (that sucks!). Maybe the Oscars should consider a sub-category like Best Adapted Score in the future.

The movie also offers great performances from actresses we don’t see as much as we used to: Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey. Winona is making a strong comeback with supporting roles here and in “Star Trek.” Clearly, she understands the frustration her character of veteran dancer Beth MacIntyre is going through and captures her deeply hurt and excessively bitter character perfectly. At once an empathetic and pathetic person, we see she has lived for ballet, and now that it has been cruelly taken away from her, she has little else to devote her life to. To be placed on a pedestal so high only to be yanked from it leaves her with nothing but desperation and deep self-loathing that is hard to dig oneself out of.

As for Barbara Hershey, she remains a phenomenal actress as she has been for so many years. In movies like “A World Apart” and “Portrait Of A Lady,” she has created indelible female characters that are never easily forgotten. Her role in “Black Swan” is no exception as she takes the clichéd role of stage mother and makes her a loving person as well as an overbearing one. When we see that she failed at a dancing career herself, it becomes frighteningly clear how much of her happiness is based on how successful her daughter is at hers.

“Black Swan” continues to show how brilliant a director Darren Aronofsky is as he mixes up different genres to create one hell of a movie going experience. Natalie Portman’s magnificent performance really is one for the ages, and few other characters have been as physically demanding as Nina. Even as things get more and more horrifying, Aronofsky keeps yours focused on the screen to where looking away from it would feel like a crime. Is it more intense than “Requiem For A Dream?” No, but it sure does come close!

One thing’s for sure, this will not be a good recruiting film for dancers. They’ll want to go into accounting or dentistry after seeing this one!

**** out of ****