Excellent !!

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2015)

Words cannot describe Natalie Portman 's exceptional performance which in turn won her many awards including the well deserved Oscar and the Golden Globes to name a few. Not only did she portrayed the naïve childlike character Nina but at the same time excelled in her graceful performance as a ballerina as well for which she lost 20 pounds to look the part. Apart from her ballet dance classes she had when she was young, a dedicated Portman did ballet training for one year prior to shooting Black Swan. The 40 seconds long scene where she went into the toilet to call her mother with good news places her in a league of her own and did her justice as a top A Lister.
Looking back at Portman's career, the dark challenging character she played in V for Vandetta does not do justice when you compare it with the character Nina. Portman told broadcast journalist Charlie Rose in an interview that one of the most difficult challenges was her childlike voice in the film which was one of the most outstanding aspects of her character performance.
Mila Kunis and Wynona Rider added brilliant performance to the picture with their different characters and provided a much needed perspective on Nina's deteriorating sense of reality. Barbara Hershey provides a perfectly calculated performance as an infantilizing mother.
Hats off to Darren Aronofsky for pulling a masterpiece together with his signature style shots that shows shots taken from behind the subject. There are certain aspects of Black Swan that can relate to his powerful film "The Wrestler"(2008)which also portrays the lead struggling for excellence in his field.