Losing yourself

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2011)

Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina in a prestigious New York City company. Nina's toiled away for years, perfecting her craft. She's come a long way, had plenty of success. But she's never made the big breakthrough, never been the lead, the big star. She needs that validation, she's desperate for it. Thomas, the director of the company, announces they will be doing Swan Lake. Nina will get her chance. It's now or never. She needs this part, she needs to be the Swan Queen. Her life is nothing if she fails. The good news is that Nina is absolutely perfect for the part of the innocent, virginal White Swan. The bad news is it's a dual part. Whoever gets the part also has to play the dark, sensual, evil Black Swan. And for this half of the Swan Queen role Nina is all wrong. Can she summon up the darkness inside her? And if she can what will be the cost? Losing herself in this role may well cause her to lose her mind.
Thomas knows Nina has the dancing talent to be the Swan Queen. She's up to the task physically. But mentally? Emotionally? That's something else altogether. This sheltered girl, hovered over her whole life by her very, very overprotective mother, has no life experience to draw on to be the Black Swan. Thomas needs her to attack the role but she doesn't know how. Nina's a perfectionist, obsessed with getting all her movements just right. She won't, or can't, allow herself to be swept away, to lose herself in her performance. As an example of what Nina needs to be there is the new dancer in the company, Lily. Everything comes easily to Lily. She's not technically perfect. But she makes dancing look effortless. She connects with the material and the audience in a way Nina can't. Lily is the perfect Black Swan. Thomas sees it. Nina sees it. If Nina is going to be the Swan Queen she'd better find her dark side in a hurry.
Becoming the Black Swan is going to require Nina to go to previously uncharted areas of her mind. She's willing to do whatever it takes but she really has no idea of the terribly dark places this might take her. We watch Nina begin to unravel right before our eyes. She's losing it and Portman portrays this wonderfully. A breathtaking performance, helped no doubt by director Darren Aronofsky who captures the descent into madness beautifully. Aronofsky employs some clever visual tricks along the way, notably making wonderful use of all those mirrors ballerinas are constantly studying themselves in. Aronofsky takes us right inside Nina's mind and it turns out that is a very scary place to be. The sweet, young girl we saw in the film's beginning disappears. The Black Swan consumes her. The film isn't perfect. There is a temptation to say that as Nina loses her grip on reality Aronofsky loses his grip on his film. Things do seem to get away from him just a bit in the end. But it's still powerful, fascinating stuff. A great story, performed wonderfully by a stellar cast. Portman obviously gets the lion's share of the attention and deservedly so. She's fantastic from beginning to end in a role that was exceptionally demanding both physically and emotionally. But she's not alone in her brilliance. Vincent Cassel is terrific as Thomas, the man desperately trying to draw the Black Swan out of Nina. Barbara Hershey is the well-meaning but ultimately rather monstrous mother who refuses to let Nina grow up, to truly live. Hershey plays the part perfectly. Winona Ryder has a small but important role as an aging ballerina being pushed aside and Ryder makes the most of every moment she has. Then there's the real revelation, Mila Kunis. She plays Lily and she is stunning in every sense of the word. Very few would have guessed Kunis had something like this in her. Full credit to Aronofsky for giving her the chance. She surely made the most of it. For as good as all the supporting players are there is no doubt this is Portman's show. And she turns in a performance for the ages. Nina is transformed. Portman is too. People will always look at her differently now. She's not just a cute, popular movie star anymore. She's an actress of the highest caliber. Black Swan may not be a truly great movie, but it's a very good one. If greatness eludes the movie it doesn't elude Portman. The performance she turned in here is as good as it gets.