A great companion piece to The Red Shoes. Quite outstanding.

Rating: 9/10 (14 February 2011)

Black Swan is surely a film that lives up to the hype. Like many of the best films, its story-line is quite a simple one. An innocent ballerina is cast in the lead role in a production of Swan Lake. Her producer admires her technique but doesn't think she is sexually free enough when dancing to pull off the role of the Black Swan. From this point onwards she immerses herself so much into the role that a transformation starts to happen
The combination of beauty and darkness is extremely compelling. It reminded me very much of the other ballet masterpiece The Red Shoes in it's depiction of a beautiful art-form and the consequences it can have on the psychology of its performers. In that film too, the idea of life imitating art with tragic consequences was a major aspect. Both films also incorporated fantastical elements into their otherwise straight narrative. In The Red Shoes it was as a means to show the central dance performance in a way that was cinematic as well as expressive, where in Black Swan it's used to show the psychological breakdown of the central character's mind. This often goes quite clearly into horror cinema territory, and I did often find myself genuinely on edge; mainly because this is a film that often goes places that are hard to predict.
Natalie Portman is a revelation in the central role. It's a truly iconic performance. She looks quite beautiful in the dance scenes and is never less than convincing as a troubled girl. She is well supported by Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey. This truly is a film of exceptional acting. But what makes Black Swan such a brilliant work is that these performances are incorporated into something very cinematic. It's not just a solid drama; it's also a very dark and unsettling thriller with beautifully creative visuals and dynamic camera-work. It doesn't matter which of the nominated films wins the big prize at this years Oscars, Black Swan is the one that is going to last the test of time.