Tortured hard dive into brilliant gut wrenching madness! I hated this movie!!

Rating: 2/10 (20 April 2011)

I hesitated watching this movie because of information in other reviews. Also I had seen one of Darren Aronofsky's other movies, "Pi". This movie was the same style as that movie.
I felt the gut-wrenching madness and tension all the way to the bitter end. I had to look away so many times I almost stopped watching it. It made me sick to my stomach and I got the serious feeling of what it was like to go into a major schizophrenic episode during the entire movie.
The acting was brilliant on Natalie Portman's behalf and if wasn't for this I would have stopped the movie more than a dozen times. I felt little pleasure, no escapism from this literal descent into madness. I hated this movie! I rarely hate any movies except mad slasher type horror. I hope to see much more of Natalie Portman in another movie with another director. As I said, she was brilliant and deserved her Oscar for this movie!
It is not for the tender of heart, the nervous, those who get nauseated easily or those who cannot take shear psychic tension building in an inescapable manner which was what occurred without break through the entire length of a movie. This is madness at it's most graphic. If that appeals to you and you wish to immerse yourself in this world hallucinations and all you will love this! I am an avid lifelong movie watcher and connoisseur and I promise I will giving anyone I know the heads up on this one. It was macabre and horrible as a bad nightmare I wanted to wake up from.
The only scene I thought that was particularly brilliant (and I give kudos to that scene) is the Final dance in the program of "Swan Lake" at the very end of the movie, but I won't spoil it for those who wish to watch this movie by telling you what will happen.
Good luck toughing this movie out! If you liked "Pi" you will love this movie even more!