What if accomplishing your life dream means confronting your dark side?

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2010)

This is a movie that will be recognized as one of the year's best, was it for the script, the directing, or the performance of the cast (special mention for Portman, and Cassel and Kunis are pretty good too). Nina is a girl who, due to the strict education her mother gave her, ended up repressing a part of her personality which could only reveal itself through light psychosomatic symptoms. Her dedication and love for ballet and a life-time chance to perform a piece she adores (Swan Lake) lead her to confront her repressed side and finally meet perfection... and freedom, just like the swan in the ballet. Aronofsky gave a specific attention to visual and sound effects, which are amazing. This is no action or sci-fi movie, yet watching a ballet dancer perform becomes a mind blowing spectacle. I'll add that I was delighted to find again in this movie the nightmarish visions/schizophrenic delusions typical of Aronofsky's work!