Black Swan
Review
By
Michael Gedi -
London College of Communication
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Master of the mind-bending psychological thriller and burdened with a pervasive flair for compelling subject matter and intense characterisation, Aronofsky’s Black Swan was understandably hyped and eagerly awaited. A black tale of a very white young ballerina whose overarching desire to make her name in the world of dance leads her on an unforgiving downward spiral. The film is expectedly well crafted. From the exquisite cinematography to the trademark overlay of exaggerated sound and the very close and personal character development, Black Swan oozes Aronofsky trademarks. That said, it’s all just sometimes a little too stylised horror.
Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, an obsessive young ballerina who wants to be “perfect”. Driven by a darkly sincere mother who keeps her baby softly padded in pink fluffy toys and spends her time painting portraits of her daughter, it appears the two are perhaps equally obsessed with Nina’s success. When Thomas (Vincent Cassel), the head of Nina’s prestigious ballet company decides to put on a controversial rework of the famous Black Swan ballet, it appears as though Nina’s time to shine has come. Yet in her quest for perfection Nina’s rigid, “frigid” dancing style does not match up to the seductive and loose demeanour she is expected to portay as the black swan. Apologetic self-doubting insecurity begins to take over as she lives and breathes the roles she is set to play. The perfect white swan, pushed over and over to break into the blackness of the evil twin, driven by her neurosis, Nina’s attempts to crack the role begin to spell her break-down.
Portman’s dedication to the role is obvious. From the darkly lit opening dance she flits around with the grace of a real ballerina. Alongside her co-star, Mila Kunis (who plays Lily), the pair worked out for 5-8 hours a day, 7 days a week as well as restricting their calorie intake. Portman superbly portrays the disturbed young dancer, her movements on screen relentlessly bird like and nervous, and when coupled with the constant close camera-work it is easy to get lost inside Nina’s character. Aronofsky follows in the vein of The Wrestler, with continual use of a handheld camera that closely follows his lead. This up close, personal and loose style not only brings us within the turmoil inside Nina’s head, it also helps create the sense of relentless unease. Striking sound as ever and even CGI work takes us even further into the insanity and often leaves the skin crawling. Yet I have one major criticism. Aronofksy uses a few too many horror film clichés that push the film to a borderline arsty shock-horror as opposed to the eery, lingering psch-thriller that it is meant to be.
Black Swan was very slightly a disappointment, perhaps only because I expected too much. I am a massive fan of the Aronofsky’s films and a massive fan of his ability push your mind to unexpectedly disconcerting places. Yet that is normally without abusing the obvious conventions of shocking cinema. The usual expert character development is prominent, and Portman’s performance is extremely involving. The overriding moral about the problem of the search for human perfection is striking, the reality so far from the ideal it is often forgotten. With that in mind I wish I could say Black Swan is a perfect film. An excellent film, yes, but not without imperfections.
9/10