A swan song...

Rating: 3/10 (7 March 2011)

Nathalie Portman can act. - That's the good thing about "Black Swan". - Aside from that, Darren Aronofsky's film doesn't have much to show. Suspenseful moments are destroyed by choosing Tchaikovsky's music instead of something that truly could support the mood, the cinematography doesn't deliver anything original (and is no match to Jack Cardiff's work on the ballet drama "The Red Shoes" - which centers around a similar story and does even show a title consisting of a symbol for a dancer's obsession), and the "action" goes along and along without anything that really surprises or catches the viewer's attention. Another example of Hollywood hype - if you penetrate the audience long enough, it doesn't take too long until everybody thinks they are watching a masterpiece. - All that is left in the end is a feeling of emptiness. Whoever acts surprised or shocked by the display of ballet as a world in itself, with lots of pressure, obsessions and struggle, should maybe start regarding the world with open eyes. - This movie doesn't deliver anything new or original in that field and fails as a psychological drama due to its flat and predictable storyline.