a peek into the dark side of a performer seeking artistic success

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2016)

Natalie Portman plays the put upon daughter of an obsessive mother who tries to find meaning in her life through excelling in her ballet troupe. This quest to find herself probably ends differently for each real ballerina in this real life situation. As a psychological fantasy Hollywood movie Natalie is not sure how to get what she wants. Each time she thinks she is not getting there she becomes depressive and each time she thinks she has climbed a rung she becomes manic. Vincent Cassel is impressive s the generic talented but unscrupulous artistic director and Barbara Hershey as the obsessive mother whose attentions supposedly intended to push her toward glory push her toward tse brinks The movie plot seems a descendant of a famous novel by a famous ballerina now retired and running her own company DANCING ON MY GRAVE. As a ballerina's autobiography prepared to anecdote real experiences it seems truer to life but of course has not been translated to the screen. Black Swan has none of these meaning the plot elements though true to life are contrived in the creator's sequence and play out as the creator plans them. This is the shortcoming of this otherwise gripping and insightful movie.