Artifice will always be exposed as something artificial

Rating: 6/10 (29 January 2011)

Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) is casting for the lead in his new version of 'Swan Lake' and is captivated by the grace, control and pulchritude of Nina Sayers' dancing. Nina (Natalie Portman) is a gifted ballerina, but has become so through a life of submission to her controlling mother (Barbara Hershey).
We're never clear who's manipulating who in Darren Aranofsky's warped psychological thriller. Leroy has a lecherous side and will say anything to bed any of the girls he's supposed to be training. Lily (Mila Kunis), Nina's main rival, is also desperate for the lead part and will stop at nothing to overthrow Nina. Or is Nina manipulating herself? Has the unattainable goal of perfection she – or rather her mother – inculcated in her impaired her psyche? Nothing is as it seems. Or is it?
Beauty might be the effect of ballet, but the process to get to that beauty is shown to be ugly. The film's technicians did much to establish the distinctive look. Colour has been drained, leaving only shades of black, white and grey to saturate everything: a stylistic device, I suspect, to reinforce the White Swan/Black Swan – good vs. evil – metaphor. Attention has obviously been paid to choreography, but it would have made sense to show more of what Portman had learned. Artifice will always be exposed as something artificial.
I don't know what it says about me but I am drawn to artists who suffer for their art. Portman trained for a year and lost weight (20 pounds) to obtain a lissom body. She suffered an array of injuries, including a severe concussion and a twisted rib.
The biggest injury she sustained was the temporary absence of her renowned acting ability. The horror element in the story did something to overshadow her performance. Indeed I'd suggest that the film's success or failure depends on whether the White Swan/Black Swan metaphor is engaging enough.
Sean Penn once said of ballet that you didn't have to like it in order to appreciate it. That's sort of my feeling about this film.
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