Frightening look inside the artist's psyche

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2010)

"Black Swan" is an excruciatingly intense psychological thriller that evokes disturbing questions of identity and the dangerous lengths to which a performer (in this case, a ballerina) will go in order to nail a role. Natalie Portman is painfully good as Nina Sayers, an up-and-coming ballerina who finally gets an opportunity to dance the role of the Swan Queen in a production of "Swan Lake." But can she abandon her perfectionism (which suits her well as she dances the technically demanding role of the white swan) and embrace the wild passion required to dance the role of the black swan? As she attempts to master these dual demands, her psyche begins to unravel. She battles a demanding, controlling mother (played with calm menace by Barbara Hershey), a brutally harsh director (Victor Cassel), a provocative, carefree rival (Mila Kunis), and ultimately her own doubts, fears, and violent misgivings about her ability to be "perfect" in both roles. This is the role of Portman's career, and I fully expect her to garner an Oscar nomination, along with Darren Aronofsky's directing and the film itself for Best Picture. "Black Swan" is mesmerizing and enthralling.