'Black Swan' Nears Perfection!

Billed a “psychological thriller,” Black Swan is a satisfying cinematic voyage that skillfully weaves its story about artistic ambition and perfection combined with the quest for human identity challenged by treachery.

Natalie Portman plays an aspiring young ballerina, Nina Sayers, who is nurtured and controlled by her jealous mother (Barbara Hershey). Her iron rod director, Leroy (Vincent Cassel) challenges her to “let go” her inhibitions and become the “Black Swan,” the counterpart stage ego that contrasts the perfection of the “White Swan” role (His rendition of ‘Swan Lake’) . There are genuine aspirations he has for her professionally, but there are also pressures to give into his sexual advances. As she sees an aging star retire [Winona Ryder] for professional reasons as well as her fading prowess, Nina takes the stage front and center with formidable challenges.

Besides coming to terms with the demands of a duo stage identity and the rigors of any dance repertoire, Nina faces a jealous nemesis in Lily (Mila Kunis), a frenemy whose intentions at first seems to be as plain as the nose on one’s face. Yet curiosity and a compelling attraction keep this relationship from going adrift. Is Nina merely naïve or is it a compelling attraction? At least caught between the web of two controlling elements, Lily offers a new alternative from her mother’s oppressive apron strings. In the end, Nina becomes her own biggest challenge as she juggles all these daunting changes put forth in her life.

We’ve seen this journey before, but seldom in this fluid a fashion. As has been said endlessly before, the distance between a performer’s role and personal life (and the lines between reality and those roles) become blurred. Director Darren Aronofsky and screenwriters Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz keep us intrigued about all these characters, especially Nina, until the final frame. The editing is flawless, providing a seamless presentation of a consciousness close to the brink of insanity and the pressures coming from all her significant others.

Without too much annoying ambiguity, but also with enough substance ’til the final curtain call, Black Swan is a tightly knit thriller and one of the most satisfying movie experiences to be found in many months.

(Credits taken from IMDB)