Black Swan is an intense, and sort of scary psychological thriller. Natalie Portman, who did her own dancing, does a fine job portraying the obsessive compulsive ballerina. But it is the artistry of Darren Aronofsky that really enables the viewer to see the flow of events through Nina's eyes. The visuals are frightening and effective, and there is no predicting when you're going to see something really scary.
Mila Kunis, known for her role as the voice of Meg in Family Guy, turns out a strong performance as Lily. Up until now she was most recognised as the voice of Meg Griffith from Family Guy and lovable brat Jackie from hit TV show That 70s Show. Not after this she won’t be.
Anyway, back to the film. It’s not for the faint hearted, not that it’s contains particularly graphic violence (well, there is a bit), but its just quite a heavy subject matter. Ballet combined with mental disorders, infused with fierce competition and some hefty sexual content makes for a great movie.
Portman plays a ballet dancer, Nina, who wins the much coveted lead in ‘Swan Lake’. While she appears to be perfect for the role of the pure and innocent White Swan, she begins to lose her mind and becomes more like the evil sister of the White Swan, the Black Swan.
Mila Kunis comes in through Lily, who’s carefree attitude bothers Nina to such an extent that she becomes paranoid that Lily has befriended her in order to steal the lead role. It becomes obvious that Nina suffers from extreme visual hallucinations and delusions drizzled with a bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Nina and her extreme love for ballet added to her natural shyness can come across as cold, and as her obsession with mastering her dancing role grows, she becomes even more strange and creepy.
It must be said, Black Swan is Portman’s show the whole way. Her mastery of ballet is unbelievable, her dance as the transformed black swan is truly delectable and her portrayal of deterioration is simply magnificent.
Furthermore, she has a terrifying scene that damn near scared the crap out of me. The director manages to make this feel original, and it's amazing how he can take the subject of classical ballet and make it really scary.
**Joanna**
Anyway, back to the film. It’s not for the faint hearted, not that it’s contains particularly graphic violence (well, there is a bit), but its just quite a heavy subject matter. Ballet combined with mental disorders, infused with fierce competition and some hefty sexual content makes for a great movie.
Portman plays a ballet dancer, Nina, who wins the much coveted lead in ‘Swan Lake’. While she appears to be perfect for the role of the pure and innocent White Swan, she begins to lose her mind and becomes more like the evil sister of the White Swan, the Black Swan.
Mila Kunis comes in through Lily, who’s carefree attitude bothers Nina to such an extent that she becomes paranoid that Lily has befriended her in order to steal the lead role. It becomes obvious that Nina suffers from extreme visual hallucinations and delusions drizzled with a bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Nina and her extreme love for ballet added to her natural shyness can come across as cold, and as her obsession with mastering her dancing role grows, she becomes even more strange and creepy.
It must be said, Black Swan is Portman’s show the whole way. Her mastery of ballet is unbelievable, her dance as the transformed black swan is truly delectable and her portrayal of deterioration is simply magnificent.
Furthermore, she has a terrifying scene that damn near scared the crap out of me. The director manages to make this feel original, and it's amazing how he can take the subject of classical ballet and make it really scary.
**Joanna**
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