Natalie Portman Can't Save this Dying Swan

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2011)

"Black Swan"is a dark look at the world of ballet, but its only giving us a surface of what makes it so biting. Natalie Portman delivers an outstanding performance, but because we can't really relate to her or understand her motives, it just looks like a really great piece of chocolate that's too bitter to enjoy.
Portman is Nina, a hyper-sensitive, vulnerable beauty that lives with her mother in New York in quite a nice pad for a single parent. There's evidence that she cuts herself and is a perfectionist, and the first time we see her dance she's punishing her poise and acting like the world is about to demolish. Over-dramatic? Of course all artists are like this, but in Nina's case she seems to be twirling in her own universe. She wants the role of the Snow Queen, the lead role in the premiere ballet of a French Director whose so positively sleazy his accent justifies his predictable actions. She confronts him in his office about getting the role, and when he tries to seduce her she bites him. 10 minutes later she finds out she has landed the role. Is the director intoxicated by her hard to get actions? Or is she just that great? Nina is a great dancer, but technique- as he points out- isn't everything. She needs to lose herself in the role of the White Swan & later the darker Black Swan. She seems to be able to play the White Swan fine. After all, the White Swan is delicate and refrained. But the Black Swan is elaborate, sultry and relaxed. Nothing that Nina is used to. This whole White Swan/Black Swan ordeal would work if we understood what makes Nina so uptight and scared when she dances? Its as if she performing for Hitler every time. I would have understood this fear more if it escalated as the rehearsals progressed. But instead, she remains psychotic from day one. It's like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining": We knew he was a nut the moment he entered the Overlook Hotel. No need to be shocked he later tried to murder his family. Nina is a mess from the start, and so she ends the same way.
The other problem with "Black Swan" is the confusion of reality. What's real and what's a hallucination? Nina meets a girl named Lily who resembles her quite a bit and also is more vivacious and forward. This tips Nina into thinking Lily is trying to back stab her for the part. Or is she just this innocent sexpot? The movie can't decide and neither can the audience. The cinematography is so jerky that we're inept to think this is all just a mind twist.
Without revealing the ending, I will say its a bit daunting and underwhelming. Nina's final curtain is supposed to be a spectacular emotional moment, but instead we're still looking for clues as to what the hell is wrong with this girl, and what makes her so paranoid? Why is her mother this abstract figure in her life? Why is Lily coming across as a mysterious persona? And does her director just want sex or does he believe in her? There's also the business of Winona Ryder, who plays a brief role of a has-been who tries to warn Nina of the directors ways. After she's hurt in a senseless accident, we never really get a glimpse of her purpose. She's just thrown in for a reason to see a drunk woman say nasty obscenities to the new star.
Natalie Portman luckily kept me intrigued the entire way through. She's extremely beautiful to gaze upon and her dancing is impeccable for a movie star's standards. It's just too bad even her performance can't save this dying swan that's got a lot of potential, but not enough empathy for me to care about the outcome.