Breathtaking account of a ballerina's summons to perform

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2010)

I am a huge fan of Darren Aronofsky, based solely on my profound appreciation of "The Fountain." So, it was with great hope that I entered the theater to watch his latest effort, "Black Swan." My wife and I agreed (as we spoke and gesticulated passionately about the film all the way home from the theater) that "Black Swan" is a stunning, heart-rending, and masterful piece of art. It accomplishes its goal brilliantly: to allow the audience to sit in front row seats to watch the unraveling of a professional ballerina who, out of a sheer desperation to achieve a long-sought perfection in her craft, must contort herself to a psychotic degree to match the requirements of the role in which she is cast.
Natalie Portman gives perhaps the performance of her lifetime as Nina Sayers. Although she is exceptional as well in "Where the Heart Is" with Ashley Judd, this role is simply at another level of brilliance. One huge thing aiding her: Aronofsky's deft direction. The man simply understands how to let the actors and the camera do all of the work. I love this quality of his films (I have not seen Hugh Jackman or Rachel Weisz in better form than in "The Fountain"). He puts the camera on their faces, and the magic happens. Aronofsky is able to direct the camera to carry us straight into the intimate and subtle layers of feeling that the film is trying to convey while ever remaining invisible. Portman's portrayal of Nina as the fragile, frigid ballerina is all the more excellent because she also shows Nina's aching desperation to find warmth and satisfaction in her own dancing – from wherever it might come. So, when the opportunity arises to portray the White Swan and Black Swan simultaneously in a new production, she sees not just the opportunity to become a star and the center of praise and attention, but also, as the film progresses, the much more dangerous opportunity of letting a part of herself breathe and come to life which for too long had been suppressed. Nina's struggle to find and then manage the inner fires of sexuality and aggression are at the heart of the film. And so exquisitely rendered. There are graphically violent and sexual images in the film, but none are gratuitous. Each carries a purpose and a weight necessary for the film's effectiveness. Portman is in front of the camera for a lion's share of the time, and the nuance that she brings to each scene is nothing less than remarkable; a pure treat.
The supporting cast, notably including Vincent Cassell as the director of the ballet company, and Mila Kunis as Lily are also very good. The soundtrack (how can you go wrong with one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, Swan Lake?) and the editing, and all of the technical elements are all as they should be: support for the main thrust of the movie, which is Portman's interpretation of self-sacrifice for the attainment of greatness.
In the end, the movie leaves you in a stunned speechlessness. The final scene brings together the confusing and unresolved events that preceded it, without cliché. Instead of simply ending, as most movies do (and most movies do it badly), "Black Swan" ends like a fantastic piece of music at the height of crescendo, and you are left sitting there, struggling for a time to comprehend the greatness of it.