Incredibly sad, beautiful, tragic and brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2010)

Perfection is a state of completeness and flawlessness. How many of you have known a perfectionist or you yourself feel the need to be perfect at all times? To the point where it almost drives you or the person insane? But to be honest, I think we've all had those moments of wanting to be perfect. Praised as one of the best films of the year, Darren Aronofsky takes us into the psyche of another character, I would say that this is my favorite film by him. At a young age he has come so far in creating some of cinema's most fascinating characters and stories, he's given us such amazing films. His vision brings out one of the year's best films and one of my new favorites, he and Natalie Portman were meant to work together. I absolutely adore Natalie Portman, but I have been waiting for her to have a role as challenging as Black Swan, her intelligence, grace, beauty and talent shine and I hope she is not only nominated but wins the Oscar for this film. The supporting cast is incredible as well, Mila Kunis, I am just falling in love with her. Proving more and more that she's not just a pretty face but can take on a role that can be dangerous and makes it her own and makes it relatable to the audience. Vincent Cassel is becoming one of my favorite actors, he's so strong and passionate and clearly gave so much into this role as the seductive dance teacher who in a sense is his dancer's prince from Swan Lake.
A New York City ballet company is preparing for the production of Swan Lake, which tells the story of an innocent, fragile White Swan who falls in love with a Prince. The ballet company has chosen to cast a newcomer to the dual role of both the White and Black Swan, casting out their top ballerina Beth MacIntyre. Dancer Nina Sayers, extremely dedicated to achieving technical perfection, competes for the part alongside several other young dancers, including Lily. Nina lives with her overbearing and controlling mother, Erica, who was herself a former dancer and is determined to keep Nina's career from getting derailed, as hers did when she got pregnant with Nina. The director, Thomas, is casts Nina. But he claims that she is the perfect White Swan, fragile and innocent, but he simply doesn't believe she has the ability to transform herself into the darkly sensual Black Swan. Nina begins suffering bizarre, and often grisly, hallucinations often involving injuries to herself. However, as soon as the injury appears it will disappear, leaving Nina disoriented and frightened. Nina also begins to feel Lily, a fellow dancer who was cast in a minor role in the production, is determined to take the role from her. Lily is wild, sensual and unruly - ideal casting for the Black Swan. Leroy is becoming increasingly frustrated with Nina, desiring passion and guile from her, and receiving only control and innocence. Tensions are also heating with Nina's mother, who believes the role is too much for Nina. What Nina doesn't realize is that the only thing that is holding her back form being perfect is herself and her lack of making one mistake.
Though I found the film predictable at times, I loved the study of Nina's character. Is she crazy and how she became that way is just so tragic. The way her mother behaves around her, almost an incestuous relationship is just horrific, not giving her daughter a chance to grow up and become a woman. Nina is trying so hard to be perfect that she forgets that it's OK to let loose and make a mistake. Her dance is so beyond beautiful, Natalie is one heck of a dancer and you can only imagine some of the pain she endured for this movie. Her dancing tells a story as well, her body language, you can tell she thinks too hard about things. Lily is exactly what Nina always wanted to be but couldn't because of her mother. Lily and Nina's love scene is so beyond intense, you just find yourself loosing your mind with Nina.
Black Swan is not only one of the best movies of the year, but one of my favorite films. I can't stop thinking about it and cannot wait until I get the DVD so I can watch it more and study it. It's a darker version of the play Swan Lake and is just so hauntingly beautiful. I'm sure there are flaws, I can think of a couple, however, the film did satisfy me greatly and I can't wait to see it again. Darren has once again given the world another film that is just incredible and will be discussed for years.
10/10