I just wanna be perfect (c)

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2011)

Before I even sat to watch the movie I was already biased against it, because I thought it was way too over-hyped and over-rated. Everywhere I went - I just heard the title of the movie. Such words as "genius", "masterpiece" and people going OTT praising the movie immediately put me off. And I thought that liking this movie was something that's in vogue now. And I hate jumping on the bandwagon. How wrong and stupid I was...
First of all I was stunned with Natalie Portman's performance. I've never seen an actress achieving such a variety of emotions in one movie - fear, despair, confidence, grace, etc. All the awards were well-deserved. I never took her seriously always thinking that Leon is the only movie worth-watching with her, as her other roles are pretty one-dimensional. By a clear mile - that's the best performance I've seen in many years.
The movie itself is a puzzle. And in the very end you finally find all the pieces that belong. Nina (Natalie Portman) is a highly restrained young girl. Her mother failed to be a great ballerina and wanted her daughter to become one. That's why she tried to protect her from the outer world. And Nina turned into a scared, fragile virgin. And her rival Lily (Mila Kunis) is somebody she subconsciously wanted to be.
Nina's haunted by hallucinations and persecution mania. She tries to let go of all her inner insecurities. And we see that she finally succeeds. But to do so - she had to literally kill the white swan in herself.
The ending of the movie is quite ambiguous. We don't really know if Nina died in her quest for perfection or that blood was a symbolic, metaphorical demonstration of her becoming a confident woman. So it's controversial.
Today I watched the movie for the third time. And every time it gets more clear, I recognize more details. And now I'm even more upset that it didn't get an Oscar. I mean - "The King's Speech"? Really?