Enjoyable but misguided

Rating: 6/10 (24 January 2011)

I can't understand the hype of this movie and the flood of perfect reviews. It's mediocre, and it drops some absolute clangers. Some of the basic premises are flawed - like a seasoned ballerina could have got to her position, spent 5 years in a dance company, and been awarded a lead role without ever experiencing sex, drugs or passion. The Dance Director never seems to find his stride - he makes a poor decision for his lead and compounds it with lack of direction, seemingly hoping that Nina will find her "black swan" with nothing more than a grope and an instruction to masturbate. Their screen relationship suffers as a result. We could have seen a smoking chemistry between sadistic teacher (and they are all sadistic!) and prima ballerina who doesn't know if she's coming or going. We get some swearing and lots of rolling eyes.
Portman was hard to believe in the lead role, and I have to say that seeing what we did of her performance, I'd feel short changed if I had gone to see that production of Swan Lake! She lost a bit of weight and physically looked the role, but I never saw the passion for her art that drives real dancers. She was a parody of a ballerina.
That said, some of the performances are good (I thought the mother was excellent) and the camera work at times is very good. I particularly liked the subtlety of some of the special effects work, but it's marred by cheap shots and over the top direction at other times.
The field of Professional Ballet, and dance in general, is ripe for an expose of the grim realities of those who choose, or are forced, to suffer for their art. This film isn't that. It is an interesting film though, and I agree with a previous reviewer that it's best taken as high camp. With tongue in cheek, it's a pleasant way to spend 110 minutes.