When thinking about a storyline for an unnerving thriller, ballet doesn't easily come to mind.
But Darren Aronofsky, most famously the director of heroin-fueled Requiem for a Dream, doesn't seem to be the kind of guy who cares about perceived boundaries. And much as he did with Requiem, in Black Swan he's created an addictive monster of a movie that seems out-of-place with the holiday season into which it was released.
The film revolves around Nina (Natalie Portman), a young, childlike ballerina living with an overbearing mother who pressures her to be perfect. When Nina's director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) decides to part ways with his long time star Beth (Winona Ryder, randomly), Nina lands the lead role in her company's upcoming production of Swan Lake, a part that requires her to play both the White and Black Swan.
But Nina only seems right for the innocent White part, while her compatriot Lily's (Mila Kunis) disposition seems more fitting for the seductive Black Swan. Thomas spends a great deal of the film trying to pull the Black side out of Nina, while Nina deals with the pressure in increasingly self-mutilating ways while also developing a bizarre friendship with Lily, whose motives Nina doubts from the get-go.
Eventually, Nina's mounting mental ails and the numbing fatigue of dancing ballet combine to bring out the worst in Nina - the Black Swan she'd been inwardly searching for.
With Black Swan Aronofsky has finally returned to his most happy medium, the psychological thriller, of which he is now perhaps the foremost master in the genre; the film is menacing, ominous, edge-of-your-seat stuff, a melodrama that has the audience feeling an uncomfortable twitch from the very start, aided by Clint Mansell's creep-out score.
Undoubtedly and unfortunately Cassel, who hasn't been better since his debut in 1995's La Haine, will be lost in the Portman/Kunis hype-bonanza. This isn't to say that Portman doesn't deserve the praise being heaped upon her - she is totally immersed in a character way outside anyone's comfort zone - but Cassel's part requires a subtlety that usually isn't associated with his combustible characters.
One minor quibble could be the twist ending, really not a twist at all for any viewer who didn't use the restroom for 20 minutes in the middle. There are simply too many clues not to guess what is happening in the frantic last 10 minutes.
But I get the sense that that's they way the director wanted it, because knowing the 'surprise' and seeing it unfold was a lot more chilling than having it sprung in the final moments. Aronofsky knew that after 100 minutes of his ill-omened guessing game, it would be a lot worse for the audience to know what was coming than to not.
Cameron Dunbar is a sophomore studying journalism. He's a tough nut to crack, but send him your thoughts at cd211209@ohiou.edu.
3 Culture
Cameron Dunbar
33119a.jpg
PROVIDED
Review:
Black Swan
Directed by:
Darren Aronofsky
Starring:
Natalie Portman, Vincent
Cassel and Mila Kunis
Rated: R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use
Playing at: Athena Grand, Movies 10
4/4 stars
