Mad, bad and extraordinary to watch

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2011)

Black Swan is beautiful, engrossing, crazy, over-the-top, on-the-money, unrelenting, unforgiving, incredible, insidious, ridiculous, brilliant, intoxicating, exhilarating, mad, bad, dangerous and stunning. Not to mention disturbing. And bonkers. It is a film which inspires many adjectives. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it is undeniably an incredible experience.
It is hard to know where to begin, because the film is so much. It is horror, ballet, psychological thriller, comedy, coming-of-age tale and family drama. Darren Aronofsky hasn't held anything back. This could have been a fairly straightforward character piece, probably starring a second-rate actress which would have garnered her a Best Actress nomination and been middle of the road and solid. But, Aronofsky has taken that and turned it up to eleven.
He is helped by the fact that Natalie Portman is much more than a second rate Actress. Here, she truly excels as Nina. Her character is charged with playing two separate roles, and, in a way, so is she, but Portman must bring the White and Black Nina's into one character in the end, recognisable in one moment.
This is not a story about a fall into darkness. This is a story about a duality. Nina's sweetness and innocence is unhealthy, particularly in her over-sheltered relationship with her mother, played brilliantly by Barbara Hershey. She is immature more than anything else and has to grow. Of course, this is not a coming-of-age tale through and through. It is about the insanity and pressure of young adulthood, the drive of ambition, the craving of perfection. Portman puts all of this across brilliantly, with great support from Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassell, and a very fine cameo-esque performance from Winona Ryder, who is strikingly convincing as a disturbed woman whose career hasn't gone to plan. I wonder why she got cast for that role though.
All of whom remain under the guise of Aronofsky. In this film though he starts it quietly with a girl dreaming and waking up in a quiet, beautiful, princess' bedroom, surrounded by pinks and whites, Aronofsky quickly begins the crescendo of noise, tension and madness which lasts and grows through the whole film. There is no respite. A lot has been made of the lesbian scene between Portman and Kunis. Frankly, at first it's a relief – seemingly a moment of quiet – but Aronofsky is not in the mood for titillation. He is in the mood to drive his audience mad.
The whole thing continues to build, knowingly over-the-top and funny with it. Nina's paranoia and hallucinations likewise grow, and, by the end, I had not got the foggiest of what was real and what was not. The ending was baffling, to the extent that it made "Inception" look simple. But, I came out and was thrilled and filled with energy. Those who are unsure should go, because even if you don't like it, it's an experience which is well worth having. Besides, the level of craft and acting here is exceptional, and there is entertainment and great fun to be had as well.
Four Stars out of Five