Why talk about ballet when you can talk about psychology

Rating: 9/10 (22 October 2011)

I gave this move 9 out of 10, not because it correctly portraits the world of ballet (and frankly I wouldn't know), not because it brings something completely new to the table but because it captures the psychology of the desperately worn out and borderline psychotic mind in such a wonderful manner.
Its clear from the beginning that something is quite not right. Small sounds seem "out of place" and details in the picture seems to shift just an inch or so. The life of Nina seems to exclusively revolve around her profession and, of reasons not disclosed to the viewer, it seems like she has been conserved into emotional immaturity by still living at home with her mother and probably also lies to Thomas about not being a virgin. She simply has had no natural development of emotional boundaries and do not know how to relate to people around her. She looks at the world pretty much in black or white, and hence people around her pretty much have good or bad intentions, not something in between.
My interpretation is that all the way through the movie we see only what Nina sees and not an objective representation of the world. By pushing herself to the limits, something which has probably been well on its way even before the movie starts, the defense mechanisms of the mind starts to shatter when she is forced into confronting her undeveloped darker sides to fit into the role.
We don't really know much about Nina or her mother, but we can suspect that things haven't been easy growing up alone with her obviously neurotic and protective mother, and that she consequently have been pulling into the safe haven of herself (the way the mother acts seems to be largely due to bad experiences with self harming in the past, perhaps something even more serious). Instead of working with understanding her own emotions she has to some extent managed to replace these necessary parts with striving to be the perfect ballerina.
A lot of the user reviews here on IMDb seems to focus on technicalities, if the movie is completely original and just about everything but the psychological aspect. I work with young people with psychological problems and I have to admit that I actually cried after the final scene, something I very rarely do. I can all too well recognize how life is too hard for some young people, no matter if you're a ballerina or if you work in an office, and how self mutilation and even attempts of suicide seems to comfort and replace the damaged parts of the human mind. The hard life of being a prima ballerina could very well be interpreted into the pressure of participating in modern society. Even most of us get along somehow, a lot of people are left behind to fend for themselves emotionally. With my background I think the movie pretty accurately captures what many of these people struggle with.
In the very end she has taken the ultimate step towards "losing herself" like Thomas asks her to, perhaps more correctly demands of her. Multiple times during the movie she sees the "darker self" within her externalized, and perhaps by finally mortally damaging herself she finally overcomes it and is able to let herself be free, hence enabling her to give the greatest performance of her life.
Its clear to me that Aronofsky has consulted with experts on human psychology when he made this movie to make it as realistic as possible. Even small details, like how low sounds seems to be much louder than they normally should be, and the manner in which reality seems to mix with illusions, up to the facial expressions of Nina seems to feel quite realistic to me. Some of you mention that the movie at times resembles a horror movie, but guess what: having a mind break down is sometimes much worse than any horror movie you have seen, in particular when you are self destructive at the time.
For me this is a 9 out 10 just because it did something within me as I saw the movie. I don't think the movie will change the world, or me for that matter, but even so it is a nice portrayal of a young woman on the border of breaking down.
Regards,
Chris
PS: That many of you gave the movie 1 out of 10 is a joke, and frankly I can not take you people seriously for the rest of your hobbyist reviewing lives. Even if you thought the movie sucked you should have given it at least a 4 or 5 out of respect for the fine craftsmanship in terms of music or filmography. Imho.