Somewhat a surprise

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2011)

I went to see Black Swan because I had seen the "making of" segment on FMC. I was expecting to see more dance and didn't realize that the main character was descending into a major mental illness. If I were a doctor, I would say perhaps this character had onset schizophrenia. The manifestations of the mental illness are hard to watch. Bloody special effects are shocking and although perhaps accurate in respect to the mental illness, still disconcerting in the extreme. There were a few things that jumped out as not true to a dance company's standards nor procedures. The character Portman plays would not have been dressing herself. Not to let on about an important part of the movie, but she would not have had the privacy to do what she did in the end. The movie can be worthwhile if the viewer understands that there are a lot of disturbing scenes and is forewarned.