A masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2011)

A perfectionist ballerina Nina Sayers (played by the delicate Natalie Portman) gets the role all ballerinas crave all their lives, the lead role in Swan Lake. We follow her into her coming of age, to break the repressive boundaries, that she has been confined in all her life, to transcend herself to another plane.
Just like "The Wrestler" (another masterpiece by the great Darren Aronofsky) this is an emotional roller-coaster ride. Framed as a sort of dark psychological thriller, the movie, like it's lead, transcends the boundaries of genres towards the end to become the best movie I have seen this year.
Natalie Portman is Nina Sayers. I mean, she "is" Nina Sayers. She is the alpha and the omega of the movie. Remember Mickey Rourke from The Wrestler? This movie is about Natalie Portman. She gives, what can only be described as, the acting performance of the year. However, make no mistake, the supporting cast are very good and make convincing cases for the roles they play.
I could not but save a separate line to mention the background score. Mostly derived from the Swan Lake, the music really gets you into the mood. The movie would not be what it is but for the haunting music.
On the technical side, cinematography is very good, and in tone with the dark theme of the movie.
In short, go get a ticket and see the movie in a theater. This is Hollywood at it's best.