Trashy and Inert

Rating: 4/10 (20 December 2010)

There is one saving grace to this bird (Turkey, not Swan): Natalie Portman. While she has always been a fine actor, this performance raises her a notch. There is no God if AMPAS members fail to nominate her.
The cinematography and editing are all top notch. In fact, there are a few stunning shots.
What, then, is the problem? In a word, story.
It's not so much this is "Repulsion" on New York's Upper West Side, it's that the filmmakers rub your nose in it. The anti-art conceit boils the proceedings down to a cliché-ridden, low grade horror film. Repetitive and predictable from Frame One, "Black Swan" adds a bit of Cronenburg psychosexuality.
The film's most interesting aspect is 'suffering-for-art'. (A dramatic cliché also done to death.) If only the noise from the rest of the film was dialed down. Aronofsky should heed the oft-repeated advice given to Ms. Portman, "Let go!"
To say the least, 2010 was a bleak, lackluster year filled with cinematic disappointments. "Black Swan" does shine compared to most fare. That does not make it a great, or even good, film. When you're starving you'll swallow anything, and those who have never seen another film will enjoy "Black Swan" tremendously.