Natalie Portman's Best Performance

Rating: 10/10 (26 October 2011)

A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet,Black Swan stars Natalie Portman in her Oscar winning role as Nina, a ballet dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company.The film is directed by Darren Aronofsky.It stars Portman together with Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis together with Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey.
Its plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet. The production requires a ballerina to play both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer played by Mila Kunis,Lily impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. When the two compete for the parts, Nina finds a dark side to herself.As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.
Black Swan's theme picks at our deepest anxieties as it relates to the emotions felt by Nina like injury, disfigurement, loss of a coveted job, loss of identity and even loss of sanity.It shows how she tries to cope up with them and how it even threatens her very own life as if danger lurks in her shadows.Aside from that,it also shows how a person is severely affected by a fear of failure.The film could be maddening to viewers but nevertheless it would be both enriching on how people deal with severe pressure as well as fears and anxieties in life especially when one is tested to the fullest in terms of strength and character.Aside from that,it is a movie that is entertaining as well as we see Portman portrays Nina with passion and confusion of a repressed woman who feels the very emotions of delirium that continually haunts her as well as her strange hallucinations and visions pushes her to the limit.
Overall,the film is one of the best not only due to Afronsky's direction and Portman's performance but also to the dark themes that are presented in this film that are not often seen in many movies.