Black Swan

Natalie Portman plays a dancer, Nina Sayers, struggling to play the role of a lifetime as the Swan Queen and her evil twin in a new adaptation of the ballet Swan Lake. Nina is perfectly cast as the Swan Queen, but not as her evil twin. Black Swan is a story about the fear of transformation, fear of her love for perfection, fear of her body, even the fear of her own mother. The first of many transformations occurs with her supplanting the previous star, Beth Macintyre played by Winona Ryder, who has been cast aside by the New York ballet company. The company’s director is Thomas Leroy, played by Vincent Cassel. He chooses Nina, but has already forewarned her that although she may be technically gifted she needs to consume herself in the darker, more sensual evil twin of the Swan Queen. Thomas instantly realises that although Nina is a beautiful woman, she is sexually naive. He asks her to find herself sexually, with him, herself or any way possible. He also instructs her to watch Lily, a free-spirited newcomer who would fit perfectly into the role of the evil twin. Black Swan is a study of the psychological trauma of coping and adapting to change, of a woman growing up. Nina has a demanding mother, played by Barbara Hershey, who herself was a ballerina until she became pregnant and had to retire to bring up Nina. Nina becomes more anxious the further she goes into rehearsals, hallucinations and anxiety attacks worsen the more stressed she becomes not just from performances but from the continued overbearing interference from her mother. Scenes are shot close-up, to heighten the sense of claustrophobia, whether in her mothers small apartment or when she is performing. The opening scene is a brilliantly shot close-up of the demands and dynamics of ballet. Throughout the whole film we are blessed with a stunning score from Tchaikovsky, used with great effect not just in the dance sequences but to underscore the changing tensions in Nina’s transformation, especially near the end of the film. I was full of apprehension before seeing Black Swan. I’ve seen all of Darren Aronofsky’s films and much like Wes Anderson’s films, I’ve always left feeling short-changed and wondering what all the fuss was with the director. Thankfully, there is much to admire and this is Aronofsky’s best film. But i am still not convinced. There are just too many cliches in the plot; the jealous mother, the bitter deposed star ballerina, the lecherous director. Some of the scenes were laughable, such as ‘that’ scene with Nina and Lily. Barbara Hershey is excellent, suitably unhinged and psychotic in equal measure. Vincent Cassel was wasted as the Director, his part was too muddled and as fine an actor as he is, he looked every inch the stereotypical cartoon villain. Natalie Portman’s character baffled me, this was a woman who’s only desire was to dance but there was no genuine love for ballet, her drive seemed more of a compulsion. Perhaps, she is merely a vessel to act out her mothers dreams. Any warmth for Nina’s craft was only ever realised at the end. Much like the film itself, Natalie Portman’s performance was good but not as great as the critics are saying. She just wasn’t as convincing in her part as Barbara Hershey was in hers as the mother, Portman’s lack of range is quite evident. And yes i noticed it as well, Portman plays the part of ‘Nina the Ballerina’! Come on Darren, what were you thinking!? Aronofsky does make an interesting reference to art and obsession, is the obsessive drawn to art because of its relentless search for perfection, or does the artist become obsessive simply as a function of their ‘profession’? He also highlights the age old question of whether art and perfection can exist without instinct, for me it doesn’t but i am sure many would disagree. But I don’t think Aronosfsky has said anything new in this film. Once the credits appeared and i got up to leave the cinema, i noticed the majority of the audience were female. Perhaps women would appreciate this film more than men, perhaps? Black Swan is an interesting but flawed film.

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