The Dark Side of Ballet.

Rating: 7/10 (1 March 2011)

Mila Kunis once said in an interview that ballet, for her, was just dressing up in a tutu and being pretty. Darren Aronofsky shows us, through his film, "Black Swan" how dressing up in a tutu and being pretty are far from what being a dancer is all about. He even dares to show us what a lot of ballet dancers and films fail to show us, the dark side of ballet.
Aronofsky's "Black Swan," is a demented drama about what happens when we crave for perfection. This is shown in young Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a young innocent girl who gets the lead part in a New York City ballet company's newest production of "Swan Lake." Her director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassal), casts her after seeing Nina has a dark side, a dark side she denies having. But through the help of a new found friend, Lily (Mila Kunis), Nina discovers her dark side, but in a way she'd never imagine. Through her obsession and self- discovery, Nina will find there's a very heavy fee in pursuing perfection.
"Black Swan," discusses many topics. Self-discovery, self-doubt, good and evil and cravings for perfection. Things other films and books have discussed before, but not in such a way as Aronofsky's. Through a disturbing and macabre camera lens, we, the audience, are given a beautifully crafted story with top notch actors and brilliant artistic directing.