A front row seat for a descent into madness

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2011)

Darren Aronofsky uses the story of an emotionally fragile ballerina who is chosen to play the lead in "Swan Lake" to take us on a gut-wrenching journey through a mind losing touch with reality.
Natalie Portman plays Nina, a talented but shy ballerina. She lives at home with her slightly creepy mother (Barbara Hershey), who treats her like a child. The ballet director chooses Nina to play the lead in the "Swan Lake". He says she is perfect for the virginal "White Swan" character but pushes her to convince him that she can play the wicked "Black Swan", a part always played by the same ballerina. We see Nina struggling with her inner demons as she is forced to confront the sensual elements of her characters. she is playing and herself. It is clear that she is uncomfortable with her own sexuality.
As the film goes on the images become more intense and shocking, until the final act, which leaves the viewers head spinning. No surprise there, given Aronofsky's previous movies then! Along the way he teases us with plenty of hints as to possible reasons for Nina's emotional immaturity.
Overall I was slightly disappointed in the film. I felt that the director's main aim was to shock us and the narrative suffered slightly as a result. However Natalie Portman is outstanding as the fragile Nina. She is on screen practically all the time (sometimes more than once at the same time!) and brilliantly conveys the conflict between Nina's desire to be the best ballerina possible and the baggage of her upbringing