What I don't like about films like this.

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2011)

The acting is superb and the music enchanting. BUT If you want to read about further praises of this film, there are many good reviews. The problem I have with this film is very extreme and it's something many artsy films end up doing that I find very cowardly: SPOILERS FOLLOW: The logic of this film would lead some (like me) to believe that Nina (the main character) wasn't cast as the lead dancer at all. When the director told her he gave the role to someone else... well, he did and all the rest that followed was her delusional state.
How can I say that? In the opening sequence Nina is dreaming she has the part. How do we know all that follows isn't a dream as well? Because the director didn't have the consideration to give us something solid to determine what's what. In the end he leaves us with this confusing ending that couldn't possibly have happened. The ending must have been a delusion since you can't dance with a gaping stomach wound. So we must invent a reality on our own. That is a cruel joke to play on an audience. At the very least the ending needed to show some clue as to what was real and what was imagination. That is what great movies do and that is why this movie falls short.
An artistic person might be able to dismiss the illogical and accept the "feelings" of distress the movie portrays, but in the end there is no way to determine the world (or the actions) of the film. This is unacceptable to me and it shows a careless intent by a director who isn't willing to make his narrative clear.
With that I give this a 7, but by no means is this a best picture award film. Best acting... perhaps.