The Captivating Portrait of Nina Sayers; The Black Swan

While writing the review for this movie, I was actually thinking of how should I describe this masterpiece…So, I went through few international articles & reviews, did a little research on what the international media has to say about the film and this is what I found out:

According to Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine: “If visions of sugarplums dance in your head, stay the hell away from Black Swan, a hotblooded, head-spinning erotic thriller in which director Darren Aronofsky does to ballet what Kanye West does to rap: turns it into his own beautiful dark twisted fantasy… Portman’s portrait of an artist under siege is unmissable and unforgettable. So is the movie. You won’t know what hit you.”

Glenn Kenny from MSN Movies said, “For all the food for thought and debate it provides, what makes “Black Swan” really special is the immediate way that it works on you if you give yourself over to it. It’s a true cinematic experience, one that can be ecstatically savored even — especially, maybe — while it gleefully messes with one’s head.”

New York Magazine’s David Edelstein: “Natalie Portman gives the kind of performance that wins awards, largely because you’re so aware of her sacrifices to play the part. She looks as if she trained hard, and, for an actress, she dances well—although not brilliantly or distinctively enough to convince you that the company director would single her out.”

Aronofsky’s portraits of insatiable obsessives are so aesthetically and topically varied that he’ll never be accused of repeating himself, even if there’s an easy and compelling argument to be made that the Aronofskyian hero or heroine is invariably cut from the same cloth.

Unlike Aronofsky’s previous film, “The Wrestler,” “The Black Swan” is a story of artistic commitment and the dangers of dedicating yourself so totally to a performance that you become untethered from real life. Both films also find Aronofsky playing off very familiar genre tropes, with very different results. While “The Wrestler” was a reconciliation narrative, with Mickey Rourke’s character seeking solace through his relationships with two archetypal women in his life, “Black Swan” spikes the traditional backstage drama with the highlights of a psychological thriller and even a horror film. So if you thought “The Wrestler” was bleak and distressing, “Black Swan” surely throws you for a loop.

Black Swan is an unusually captivating film, utilizing all the senses of the cinema to generate a deeply visceral and often thrilling effect. The story is dark and grotesque (which are two of its finest qualities) but also challenging and liberating. It captures you from its opening frame to its shattering climax, which is tragic and vindicating all at once. Natalie Portman stars as Nina Sayers, a background dancer in a New York City ballet company. Hitherto now, Nina has just been another extra on stage, but her director, Thomas played by Vincent Cassel, has promised her a more prominent role in the upcoming season. The production will be “Swan Lake,” Tchaikovsky’s classic story about a princess turned into a white swan by an evil sorcerer. The princess’s only hope for breaking the spell is the true love of a prince, but her jealous twin, the black swan, tries to lure him away.

Black Swan is about how Nina’s life begins to mirror the show, so much that she develops physical and mental manifestations of her on-stage counterparts, which become more realized as the line between fantasy and reality grows increasingly blurred. Even you’re not sure what to make of the strange phenomena taking place, but it sure is fascinating to watch.

Given Nina’s lifestyle, it’s no wonder she’s always scared and timid like the white swan. She lives with her overbearing mother played by Barbara Hershey, who still dresses her and tucks her in at night; she has no life outside of ballet; and

she’s been sheltered from the types of experiences that mold children into adults. When she tells Thomas that she’s not a virgin, you don’t quite believe her at the first place. Even if she’s had physical sex, it’s doubtful she’s ever experienced the real emotions that go along with it.

Because Nina has been conditioned to be perfect, she’s immediately threatened when a new dancer named Lily played Mila Kunis arrives from San Francisco. She’s Nina’s size, shape and, from a distance, spinning image. For reasons I won’t reveal here, Nina starts to think Lily is after her. This is an external conflict that makes Nina more susceptible to her own internal one.

Director Darren Aronofsky hones his usual style and energy to bring this twisted tale to life. He’s the type of director who considers every cinematic resource before turning ordinary shots into ones that stand out, and with Black Swan, almost every shot stands out. Consider the way he shoots Nina’s body – sometimes in beautiful, elegant long shots, but mostly in grainy, tight close-ups, especially of her feet and nails, giving you a real sense of what dancing is doing to her – physically, emotionally, mentally. He heightens this effect by constantly reverting to the unsightly and mysterious rash growing on her back. These images may make your skin crawl, but that’s not their point. In my opinion, Aronofsky wants us to see beyond the romance of ballet and become immersed in the gritty, exhausting lifestyle of a dancer. Director of Photography Matthew Libatique does a delicate balancing act of presenting the graceful side of ballet while paying heed to the dark side of it.

It’s not just the visuals that make Black Swan powerful. Clint Mansell’s score and the overall sound design are just as inducing. The simple sounds of bumps and clicks on the hard dance floor; the needle going in and out of ballet slippers as they’re being sewn; and the breaking of glass envelop us. Watching the film, I was hardly aware of my own surroundings. I was pulled in without compromise and never able to look or listen away.

The visual and aural sense proved that Aronofsky is a born filmmaker, but what makes him a born director is how he works with his actors and narrates his stories. Natalie Portman gives one of her best performances in a role that could have easily tempted any actress to suggest her character’s metamorphosis too soon. She holds back and shows a lot of discipline and patience without breaking stride or overacting. Because Portman the celebrity is able to disappear into her role, you’ll believe Nina has always been timid, frightened and wounded. Even when she does “let go,” there are remnants of her former self still there. Clearly, when Portman is paired with the right director, she proves she can handle the most risky material.

Black Swan is a film that just keeps building its story, drama and tension till the very end. There’s a moment in the final act when all its pent up emotions and sensations erupt and you’re completely entranced by the images taking shape before you. I personally think if it would have been in the wrong hands, this material might have gone horribly wrong, but Aronofsky and his crew elevate it to an art form and the result; we’re left spellbound!