Reviewed by Kate Rodger
Natalie Portman has been bubbling under the Oscars’ radar for sometime, ever since she startled us all as the 10-year-old Mathilda, mature beyond her years, in Luc Besson’s Leon. We got more of that ten years later in Closer, and now, with Black Swan, we see what she’s really capable of - winning an Oscar.
Here she collaborates with gifted director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream/The Wrestler) on a dark, disturbing and mesmerising story of a prima ballerina, Nina, and her obsessive pursuit of perfection.
Nina is cast as the Swan Queen, and while she embodies the pureness and goodness of the White Swan, accessing the darkness within her to play the evil Black Swan will take her to places far beyond her realm of control.
Another ballerina is cast as her back-up, Lily (Mila Kunis) is everything Nina is not, and her obsession and her jealousy unravels her.
Festering away in the background, is Nina’s relationship with her mother (Barbara Hershey), a woman intent on controlling her daughter’s every thought and desire, to both protect her from herself, and to fuel her ambition.
Aronofsky’s skill lies in how he plays us as an audience, voyeurs who, just like Nina herself, are never quite sure what’s real and what’s not. Is Nina’s paranoia just that, or are we all going mad?
The cinematic delivery of the story is also first-class; this film is simply gorgeous to look at. The cinematography, the choreography and the complete authenticity of both actresses as prima ballerinas is quite extraordinary.
So now a word of warning: Black Swan's unflinchingly visceral descent into obsession is at times hard to watch, especially if you're a squeamish girlie-girl like I am; there are some enduringly gruesome moments and this is an R16 rated film. But the sheer beauty of this film, the gripping story, and Portman's extraordinary performance make it an experience to be savoured.
Four and a half stars.
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Black Swan
:: Director: Darren Aronofsky
:: Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey, Sebastian Stan
:: Running Time: 109 mins
:: Rating: R16 - ccontains violence, sex scenes & content that may disturb
:: Release Date: January 27, 2011
:: Trailer: Watch here
