The Red Shoes meets Angel Heart

Rating: 4/10 (23 January 2011)

Who knew? Rather than a profession peopled with a crew of dedicated professionals, the ballet world, according to director Darren Aronofsky, really consists of a bunch of back-stabbing bitches, self-mutilating neurotics, sleazy artistic directors and a 'Stage Mom' from hell.
Black Swan has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer in this one-note tale of a dancer's quest to come out on top as she pursues the lead role in Swan Lake for a prominent (unnamed) NYC ballet company. The film is really supposed to be a cautionary tale about people who will stop at nothing to further their careers. Ironically, Natalie Portman (as the protagonist, Nina Sayers) worked herself out like a dog in order to replicate the look of a full-time ballet dancer; many internet posters have commented how unhealthy she looks on screen and seems to be just as guilty as the character she plays (where Nina will stop at nothing to become the so-called 'Swan Queen', Ms. Portman has worked herself to the bone in her quest for Oscar Gold!).
Vincent Cassell plays the sleazy artistic director of the company, Thomas Leroy. Leroy has no qualms about throwing the over-the-hill principal dancer, Beth Macintrye (played by a way over the top Winona Ryder) under the bus after deciding that the younger Nina must now carry the torch. His decision is not immediate as he has reservations about whether Nina can actually play the darker 'Black Swan' part. He senses that things aren't right with Nina as she is unable to 'let herself go'. The consummate professional that he is, Leroy instructs Nina to go home and masturbate which will help her to get in touch with her more spontaneous self. When he gives her pointers on the dance floor, he says things like, "Use each finger, your face, your tits, everything. Entice me!" Nina finally gets the role when Leroy tests her by attempting to kiss her while they're alone—in response, Nina bites him on the lip (that proves to Leroy, believe it or not, that Nina has what it takes!).
Also in the mix is Nina's pushy mother, Erica, who she lives with in a small, unattractive apartment. The mother wanted to be a ballet dancer but never made it and ended up pushing Nina to become the driven artiste she has become. It's clear that Erica is unconsciously jealous of her daughter's success but I can't agree with others who have suggested there is an incestuous sub-text here. If anything, Nina's mother is extremely upset over the evidence that Nina has been self-mutilating and is now trying to get her to slow down and take care of herself.
Finally, there's Lily, Nina's rival from San Francisco who Leroy names as alternate in the Swan Lake production. Lily sports a bunch of tattoos and has a mouth like one of the performers you might find on 'Jersey Shore'. Nina hallucinates having a steamy sexual encounter with Lily but soon finds out that it was all in her mind.
Throughout 'Black Swan', Nina keeps imagining seeing her double which unnerves her no end. Aronofsky deceptively leads us to believe that Nina harbors murderous impulses. Prior to the climax, Nina fights with her double who morphs into Lily. It then appears that Nina stabs Lily to death just prior to the opening night performance. But during intermission, Lily knocks on Nina's dressing room door making it quite clear that Lily's murder was just another one of Nina's hallucinations. It turns out that Lily is not a murderer at all—rather, the murderous impulses were simply a reflection of Nina's own self-hatred. She ends up stabbing herself prior to going back out for the second act and presumably is found bleeding to death as the curtain descends and the oblivious audience roars their approval.
Nina's last words regarding her performance was that "it was perfect". The irony of course is that although achieving her goal of mastering the role of the 'Black Swan', she sacrifices her life. In real life, those who give up a piece of themselves for their ambition, don't usually kill themselves. Rather, they end up with a feeling of a self-satisfaction and achievement of their goals. It's of course for others to judge them whether their rise to the top was conducted with a modicum of moral integrity.
In the end, there are few surprises here as Nina's self-destructive internal arc is played out as if someone kept hitting the repeat button on a video monitor. All those scratch marks and peeling toenails become tedious after awhile and the potential tempting plot that Nina's actions might lead to a murder investigation turns out to be nothing more than a big tease on the part of director Aronofsky.
Some may feel that Nina is the epitome of a tragic heroine—she accomplishes her goal of mastering a difficult dramatic part but throws away her life at the same time. If you are going to have a heroine who is self-destructive, why not model your character on Tennessee Wiliam's Blanche Dubois? Her back story is a real one as opposed to the one-note Nina, molded by a stereotyped Stage Mother from hell.
The frenetic pacing of the Black Swan narrative will hold your interest to the end but the ride is decisively creepy. Has Aronofsky created a true cautionary tale on the dangers of careerism? Or does he revel in the excesses that he is supposedly criticizing? Somehow, all the gory goings on in The Black Swan don't seem to be a very appropriate venue for the dignified world of ballet. Better to catch a young Mickey Rourke in 'Angel Heart' if you desire a blood-fest that's a tad bit more creative.