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| The only person standing in your way is you... |
In this beautifully written story, we see a ballerina, who after a life of overprotection and control from her mother, fights through the quest to high-profile ballet, perhaps a bit too intensely. [...]
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballet dancer who, as her fellow ballerinas, seeks to be "Swan Queen" in an upcoming rendition of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. But conflicts arise from the highly competitive and demanding environment of the ballet, regarding the other ballerinas, the ballet director, and herself.
Black Swan goes into the realms of insanity, through a perfectly balanced blend shifting seamlessly between the real and the surreal, that is not only psychologically fascinating, but visually stunning as well, both in the way the movie is choreographed, and in the performances within.
Nina's obsession with the Swan Lake, goes into unimaginable depths, reaching the point where there are no longer any clear bounds between her life, and the ballet's story.
She is represented as a reflection of the white swan, and is led to believe that of herself, thus she visualises the black swan on other people, such as Lily or Beth. At one point she starts to project herself onto those people, isolating her conflict from herself, still unable to directly grasp her "dark side". But then it is shown that all she had projected on others, was actually contained within, and thus, as her obsession progressed, she fully grasped the black swan, to the point of her demise.
Despite the ballet itself, this film's visual appeal, stems strongly from the costume, make-up, and VFX departments, all three of which work very much as a unit in this production, as they strive to function as an extension of one another, to an exuberant result.
And finally, the thing that truly brings this masterful story to life... the cast. First and foremost, we have Natalie Portman's leading performance, which is simply stunning, and is probably her best to date. The way she can change her depiction of Nina throughout the film, depending on the aspect of her being she is portraying, is admirable. Mila Kunis, a rather more unusual casting choice, plays Portman's antagonist, Lily, in a much more relaxed fashion, and gives nice contrast and balance to the movie. Vincent Cassel, playing Thomas, the ballet director, is great at bringing the required pressure to the film, and also builds around a, to some extent, double sided character. And then we have Barbara Hershey, playing Nina's mother, and is absolutely brilliant at portraying the most annoying and unlikable character.
What did you think of this intriguing movie? Share your thoughts in the comments bellow! Will you watch Black Swan? Share your thoughts in the comments bellow!
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