Technically Perfect

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2014)

"Black Swan" is an excellent example of a film that succeeds both in being commercial and artistic. The film's subject matter of a woman's fears causing her to descend into a state of paranoia, as well as Darren Aronofsky's direction are both clearly influenced by Roman Polanski's 1960's psychological thrillers "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby." However, while "Black Swan" is also primarily a character study of a female protagonist's deteriorating mental state, the faster pace and more melodramatic dialogue makes "Black Swan" a more commercial film. That isn't to say that "Black Swan" is a lesser film, because I think it just about as good as Polanski's classics, and possibly deals with more relevant themes. It's simply that the style will probably not shock the audience as much as Polanski's.
Having said that, I consider "Black Swan" a perfect film. The story follows Nina, a young ballerina (Natalie Portman), who gets her dream role of the Swan Queen only to find herself becoming paranoid of losing the role to her double (Mila Kunis), as she is pushed to the extremes by her director (Vincent Cassel) to "let go" of her obsession with technical perfection in order to become the darker side of her role: namely, The Black Swan. The way Nina begins to embody her role of The Black Swan, while being paranoid of losing her dream part, is what constitutes the "horror" of the film. It also builds up to an operatic climax that wraps up the film beautifully. Aronofsky's direction brilliantly captures Nina's paranoia, making for a hallucinatory viewing experience, and the musical choices elegantly complement the great camera-work and choreography. It's a beautiful and thrilling film, although I did not find it particularly scary.
The performances here are excellent. Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, and Barbara Hershey (as Nina's overprotective mother) all put in convincing displays in their supporting roles. Nevertheless, the true star of the show is undoubtedly Natalie Portman. Doing the majority of her dancing scenes without a double, Portman delivers a virtuoso performance that demonstrates the full spectrum of her acting ability from the subtle, nervous glances she gives to the tears of heartbreak and torment.
Artful, thrilling, and powerful, "Black Swan" is a technically perfect film. Ironically, however, "Black Swan" might just suffer from the same problem as its main character, in cementing itself as a classic: it is so perfect that it fails to deliver the final punch by letting everything go.