Movie Review: Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky's is one of the most ambitious filmmakers of our time. After his most straight-forward( but still fantastic) The Wrestler, he goes back to his signature style with Black Swan. Black Swan bends your mind in the signature Aronofsky style.

Black Swan centers around Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman). Nina is a dancer in a New York ballet company. Nina gets her big break when the director of the ballet Leroy (Vincent Cassel), when he casts Nina as the lead in Swan Lake. Nina will be playing both the White and Black Swan in the play. As Nina prepares for the role, she begins to become overwhelmed with pressure. In addition to the pressure, she becomes jealous of a new dancer named Lily (Mila Kunis) and begins to lose her grasp on reality.

Black Swan is an experience. This is an intense film that also acts as a workout on the psyche. It's basically the definition of a mindfuck. You don't know what's real and what's not. This film left me in absolute awe after watching. The entire film is filled with nice little surprises and Darren Aronofsky's manic, artistic style. Only a director like him could make a film like this. He knows how to engage an audience so perfectly and he is truly a craftsman when it comes to filmmaking.

A big reason this film works so well is the performance of Natalie Portman. Watching her character's transformation from innocent dancer to unstable lunatic is fascinating to watch. Portman deserves some serious Oscar consideration for this role. Rarely do you see an actress make such a transformation into her character. Portman's performance is excellent, deep, disturbing, sensual and at times, strangely gorgeous.

Black Swan is a movie that will stick with you after viewing. I saw this film on Tuesday and it took me a few days to write this review, this is a film that needs to sink in for a little while before you form your views on it. It's a highly disturbing, brutal film that twists your mind and doesn't let go. This goes beyond a film, it's a piece of dark art. Darren Aronofsky is a twisted genius, he is one of the most original directors in Hollywood today. Natalie Portman is superb and Milia Kunis gives a great performance as well. Black Swan is a masterpiece that will have you thinking about it for weeks afterwards.

4.5/5 Stars