Psychological horror is a tough genre to pull off. Most of the time you can see the plot twist at the end from a good several miles away. For every Psycho and Silence of the Lambs you get about a million bad imitations. I'm glad to say that Black Swan is not one of those million.
Black Swan centers around Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina who dreams of getting the lead part in Swan Lake. After inadvertently convincing the director (Vincent Cassel) that she has the ability, she begins obsessing over the part. She pushes herself, both physically and psychologically to perfect her performance. Competing for the role is Lily (Mila Kunis), a newcomer to the company who may or may not be Nina's enemy. As these events transpire, Nina must confront her dark side and choose whether to destroy it or embrace it.
I never thought I would find myself enjoying a film about ballet, but here I am, saying it. Director Darren Aronofsky manages to craft a film that deals with obsession, duality, and repressed sexuality and not make you snooze through it or think that it's pretentious tripe. Everything is handled brilliantly. The special effects, combined with the cinematography of Matthew Libatique (note the prominence of mirrors), make for a very visceral experience.
Natalie Portman tends to get a lot of bad press from her acting in the Star Wars prequels (I'm not among those people), but she really shines in this film. Her innocence and emotional turmoil is palpable. I found myself as horrified about her transformation as she does in the film. I found her character to be similar to that of Jack Torrance in The Shining. Both are emotionally damaged people who make a gradual, downward spiral into madness. With any luck, Natalie Portman will win that Oscar for Best Actress. She's certainly earned it.
Mila Kunis surprised me the most, however. For someone who is known for doing commercial, "less serious" films, she really shows how great of an actress she is. Lily is, in many ways, the person Nina wants to be but is also repelled by. One is outspoken, while the other is reserved. Lily is promiscuous, where Nina is sexually repressed. Yet even with these differences, the two characters are very similar in that they share duality within their selves.
With Oscar season on the horizon, this film is likely to get even more good press. Believe in it. This film is one of the best this year.
SCORE: 5 out of 5
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