Simply Brilliant!

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2010)

Acting: Natalie Portman has been one of the top actresses for some time in my opinion. However, she never had a role that completely wowed everyone. That particular role has been found with Black Swan. Natalie Portman, who plays Nina Sayers, completely transforms before the viewers' eyes and makes the audience feel all the destructive emotions that haunted her. Her performance creates a character who is cynical, depressing, haunting, sad, immature, and obsessed all in one. Natalie definitely gave off an Oscar worthy performance and if I had to put money on it, I'll pick her to take home the award. Mila Kunis portrays Lily, the dangerous friend/ antagonists. She does a tremendous job at pushing Natalie's character and helping dictate the pace of the film. Overall the acting was stellar.
Cinematography: If there was anything to criticize, it's got to be some elements of the cinematography. The best way to describe it is simply inconsistent. Most shots were damn near perfect, conveying a tremendous amount of emotion. However, some shots were done in a "guerilla" style that Darren Aronofsky used when he did The Wrestler. The camera shakes and bounces around giving that gritty feel but it did not in any way mirror the pace and feeling of this particular movie. Although, there were some "handycam" moments, it can be almost completely overlooked because most of the cinematography was done tremendously well. Darren Aronofsky feeds us some of, if not the best alter ego shots ever seen before in a film. These amazing shots were both scary and fulfilling on so many levels and were a joy to look at.
Conclusion: Black Swan is one of those movies that only come once a year. It shows that filmmaking is much more than putting together effects and action sequences, it is a true art form. Darren Aronofsky plays with the one thing we all connect with the mostemotion. Black Swan is truly a stunning film that will prey on the human psyche. Holding one of the best performances given by a female lead, Black Swan is a must-see experience because calling this film simply a movie is unjust. This film is a tremendous inspiration to me as an aspiring filmmaker. Black Swan is easily one of the best films I have ever seen in my life and I urge everyone to go see it immediately.