Awkward, cliché-ridden cross between a psychological thriller and a horror movie

Rating: 3/10 (15 February 2011)

There are two reasons I saw this movie: first, I saw Natalie Portman interviewed on Letterman and he heaped such praise on her performance, I thought maybe it really is something special. Secondly, a week or two ago I happened to see Portman on TV in the movie "Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium" and thought she brought soul to a part which on the face of it didn't have much to offer. So I was intrigued to see what she'd be like in a more substantial role.
Unfortunately, this movie doesn't offer one. The script is horribly clichéd (just read the quotes listed above) and the plot is just plain silly. To begin with, we are supposed to believe that a ballet director would risk his entire production on the fact that the technically correct but emotionally frigid Nina (Portman) bites his lip when he tries to kiss her, thus supposedly revealing a hitherto hidden passionate side which she needs to play the role of the Black Swan. You don't have to know anything about the world of ballet (I certainly don't) to perceive the absurdity of this as a plot device.
From there it only gets worse. Nina begins to have hallucinations - or are they? The problem is that it isn't at all clear whether they are hallucinations or whether there's truly something otherworldly going on. Is it a psychological thriller or a horror movie? This question is not resolved until the final reels, but again, the denouement is every bit as silly and unbelievable as the opening plot device - indeed, more so.
This movie appears to be trying to say something profound about the artistic impulse, but the symbolism is at once both crude and barely comprehensible - which is quite an achievement, though hardly a positive one. Perhaps the film's biggest flaw, however, is that it simply fails to engage the emotions. I yawned most of the way through it. Portman has been highly praised for her performance but I found it overwrought - like many other reviewers, I quickly grew tired of her tears and long faces. Hershey is serviceable in her role as an overpossessive mother. But really, there isn't much to recommend here. If you've seen the posters of Portman made up as the Black Swan, you've probably seen the best of this movie already.