Wow. Just Wow

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2015)

I always found the story of the Swan Lake a bit boring. It's a typical princess story with a sad ending. I even remember watching an animated version of this story and couldn't care less. It didn't enjoy the popularity of the other princess stories like Little Mermaid or Mulan.
However, when I saw this movie as portrayed by Natalie Portman, I was blown away. Never before had I seen such a gritty, scandalous version. This isn't your little girl fairytale anymore. But that's what made it real and yes, possible. You don't get the watered down version anymore. There was such a beauty to the madness of Portman's character's transformation from obedient little girl to daring woman. It coincided perfectly with the transformation of her stage character, the Swan Queen. I cringed at her blind obedience and constant apologetic state. And this made me anticipate the type of person she would become. It gave me chills watching her performance as the Black Swan. It's my favorite part in the entire film. The audience waits so long for her to finally let go. All that madness must result in no less than perfection.
I attribute the success of this film to many factors, the haunting cinematography for its mostly dark and drab tones, the music for its surprisingly non-boring influence on the movie, and most of all the actors, who all showed that everyone, even nice people have a dark side.
I look forward to seeing this movie again. 5 years later, I'm left amazed.