Solid Effort

Rating: 7/10 (2 April 2012)

Black Swan is a very good film, but not nearly as great as most people made it out to be. Barely a surprise though, since it was already a very good film 45 years ago when Roman Polanski shot it and called it "Repulsion". Personally, I though it reminded way too much of this (and a few other) Polanski film(s). Lonely, kind of obsessive, superbly beautiful girl that's reluctant, almost afraid, of relationships, descends into madness And Aronovsky is very good, but he is no Polanski, at least when it comes to the psychological thriller part. After a point, everything is, or could be, a delusion, which is kind of irritating because you are only left with assumptions of what actually happens. You know what you see is Nina's paranoid view of things, but it's so overwhelming that you're left wondering about almost every scene, which is a bit too much.
Of course, the film is, in the end, on par with some of the best films of its kind, but that's mostly thanks to Natalie Portman's (even more) fabulous (than usual) presence...and a lesbian scene between her and the also wonderful Mila Kunis.
Just those two actresses alone is worth the price of the DVD.