Hard to Recommend - Hard Not To.

Rating: 6/10 (7 February 2012)

What can I say, I had a negative experience watching this story and couldn't wait for it to end. The critical mass has established that this film is a masterpiece. It would be fruitless for me to argue otherwise. The acting, especially Barbara Hershey, is believable. The editing is brisk. The direction is done well. It is the story, not even the subsequent screenplay, that feels uneven. The character arc is more a straight line than an arc.
The confusion the main character is going through leaves no grounding for the audience from the beginning to the end. This constant uncertainty and frustrating tension just made the story an unpleasant experience. Portman is shown constantly throwing up and crying. There was no escape for her or the audience throughout the 1 hour and 40 minutes of the world of professional ballet. Again, the movie features very little actual ballet, which could also disappoint cultural moviegoers who expect some artistic gratification. I actually found the scenes of repetitive practice realistic in comparison to my own life, spending years practicing piano. There was some insight to the behind the scenes world of professional ballet, but that also felt to be not enough to fill an entire screenplay.
I started to really lose it in the third act, where instead of watching a character study, I felt like I switched the channel and was watching a David Cronenberg film. Natalie Portman is literally turning into a black swan like Jeff Goldblum was literally turning into "The Fly". Then this drama about depression and living in stress tries to become a thriller or horror film, setting up your classic horror shocks with loud sound effects and creepy faces in shadows. Again, my complaint was - what I am as an audience member supposed to feel? The only moment of growth I felt, other than the obvious finale, is when Portman finally stands up to her overbearing mother, and even then we still can find sympathy for the Mother's devotion. Barbara Hershey was perfectly cast as the former ballerina mother with her own sordid past. Darren Aronofsky found the right balance of mania versus reality in the film's presentation, and kept me guessing to the end. However, in the end it saddened me to have such a depressing experience watching a well made film.