Tchaikovsky's household-famed ballet music will never be the same

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2011)

Establishing scene rarely come with such efficient briskness. The movie opens with a dream sequence upon which the entire movie is pivoted: Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) dancing the lead role in Swan Lake. Waking up, she stretches herself and flexes her toes that spell strength and endurance, the foundation of the exquisite elegance of all the rest of her body above. Ballet this must be.
Like most movies these days, you'll see in Black Swan shadows of other movies (and this is not a criticism). One is "All about Eve" (1950), the recurring rivalry for spotlight and centre stage, the young pushing out the old. In the Margo-Eve-Phoebe cycle in "All about Eve", the newcomer Phoebe is in the future tense, just a cameo appearance at the conclusion. In "Black swan", however, in the Beth-Nina-Lily cycle, newcomer Lily plays a vital role, in more ways than one. In addition to being a real rival, Lily (Mila Kunis) is also Nina's alter-ego, and here we come into "Fight Club" (1999) territory. About this I'll say no more, other than this element is key in the devastating conclusion.
Natalie Portman, the suspense of whose most likely Oscar crowning will end in less than 24 hours of this writing, portrays Nina in two parallel struggles – the artist's quest for perfection and the sexually repressed girl's psychological turmoil. Here, I use the word parallel not in the mathematical sense they they will never meet. Quite on the contrary, they are closely linked. Nina's technical perfection renders her claim to the role of the White Swan unchallenged. But this is a duo role that must be danced by the same dancer, the other being the evil, seducing Black Swan, for which technique comes only second. The ability to "loose yourself" and seduce the entire audience comes before everything, barks artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) in no uncertain terms. He asks Nina "Are you still a virgin" and seems slightly relieved when the answer is negative. Yet that is far from being enough. For a starter, he instructs Nina to prepare for the role by "touching herself" i.e. masturbation at home. Nina is launched on a path of no return.
I like minimalism in movies which "Black swan" certainly is not. I could go to the extreme of describing it as a gory psychological thriller but that would be unfairly demeaning. Nina's psychological journey is certainly nothing less than fiery and it's up to the audience to decide if they like director Darren Aronofsky's style.
In the acting department, there should be little disagreement. Enough has been said about Portman. The casting of Cassel as the arrogant, charismatic artistic director is brilliant. Less talked about but fully deserving recognition is Kunis who perfectly nails the role of the scheming, outgoing new-comer. Winona Ryder's appearance as over-the-hill (tragically still so young) Beth is no more than a cameo but still poignant to watch, not the least because how it reflects the actress's real life. Barbara Hershey also deserves credit for giving life to a usually stereotype role of the possessive mother.
At the time of this writing, "Black Swan" has just won the Independent Spirit's cinematography award, and well deserves it. In all other areas, "Black Swan" is also a work of distinguished achievement. The culminating climax is befitting and after watching it, Tchaikovsky's household-famed ballet music will never be the same.