Black Swan - Review
What is the cost of perfection? That is the question posed in Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky's follow up to The Wrestler.
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a dedicated ballerina, who lands the plumb role of the Swan Princess. Only she can't get the part of the black swan right in her quest to portray both the light and dark sides of her character. Between her over bearing mother (Barbara Hershey) and her sleazy director (Vincent Cassell), Nina is stuck in her repressed world, being torn between wanting to break free and wanting to stay in her shell. Enter a new ballerina, Lily (Mila Kunis) and her world begins to break apart as Nina expands her horizons and hallucinations begin.
An utterly amazing film, even more so after having some time to think about it, Black Swan is Aronofosky's best film to date and that is no mean feat either. Aronofsky plays with elements of psychological horror, whilst grounding them in a world of ballet. This mix works well (and far better than one would expect) with the shocks being very effective without being over the top. Natalie Portman is simply exquisite, in a film about perfection, she very nearly is and is helped out by the whole cast, none of whom given anything less than 100 percent to their characters. Mila Kunis is the big surprise in this film, her acting is top class and she plays her role note perfect and is a great foil for Portman. With Aronofsky seemingly playing his own version of Swan Lake inside the film about Swan Lake, it is a stunning film from start to end. Black Swan will be one of the best films this year and will feature heavily in the Oscars.
5 out of 5.
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a dedicated ballerina, who lands the plumb role of the Swan Princess. Only she can't get the part of the black swan right in her quest to portray both the light and dark sides of her character. Between her over bearing mother (Barbara Hershey) and her sleazy director (Vincent Cassell), Nina is stuck in her repressed world, being torn between wanting to break free and wanting to stay in her shell. Enter a new ballerina, Lily (Mila Kunis) and her world begins to break apart as Nina expands her horizons and hallucinations begin.
An utterly amazing film, even more so after having some time to think about it, Black Swan is Aronofosky's best film to date and that is no mean feat either. Aronofsky plays with elements of psychological horror, whilst grounding them in a world of ballet. This mix works well (and far better than one would expect) with the shocks being very effective without being over the top. Natalie Portman is simply exquisite, in a film about perfection, she very nearly is and is helped out by the whole cast, none of whom given anything less than 100 percent to their characters. Mila Kunis is the big surprise in this film, her acting is top class and she plays her role note perfect and is a great foil for Portman. With Aronofsky seemingly playing his own version of Swan Lake inside the film about Swan Lake, it is a stunning film from start to end. Black Swan will be one of the best films this year and will feature heavily in the Oscars.
5 out of 5.
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