So all you fanboys and fangirls of Aronofsky will know he has developed a few trademarks of his own over the years. Very similar to the Wrestler and Requiem For A Dream, Aronofsky shoots "Black Swan" with a muted colour palette and grainy style to achieve a look of desaturation; subsequently evoking themes of realism, entrapement and madness. Thats one of the things I loved about the film; its real. Or it was to me. It was strikingly vivid and never seemed to lack the balls of his previous efforts. Sorry for the slang term there! Not very professional of me I know!
Onto the story then. A prosperous New York City ballet company is using a revamped version of Swan Lake as their opening show of the season, with direction being given from Thomas Leroy (played by Vincent Cassel). They decide to choose a new lead over their previous Swan Queen, Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder). In steps Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) who is chosen to play the prestigous part. However, Leroy believes Nina lacks what it takes to play the White Swan's twin; the more sensual Black Swan and chooses newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) to play the part. In a bid to convince him otherwise, Nina soon experiences erratic paranoid delusions and becomes convinced that Lily is out to steal her role in Swan Lake. With an overbearing mother treating her as a child and constantly over-reacting to her daughter's every word, Nina slips into an overwhelming obsession over perfection and ego.
That's the short sypnosis because obviously, I don't want to spoil it for you all. One of the central themes to Black Swan is sexuality. Of course, it would be since the Black Swan is supposed to be played as a sensual and promiscuous character but aside from the production, Nina's work is ruled by sex. She explores deeply (and rather graphically) her sexual side and these scenes are important to understand her ego. She's an innocent character, who is very much like a child because of her mother, who wants to perform as the Swan Queen. Yet her innocence hinders her ability to perform as the Black Swan and thus the more provocative scenes are used as a way of 'toughening' her up if you will. What Cassel's character wants from her performance, Portman simply cannot give. The sexuality of the piece therefore works as a catalyst for her decline into obsession.
Another central theme is mirrors. For anyone who doesn't notice this, well; I'm surprised since a fair majority of shots feature them and all when Nina is in frame. It shows the superficial nature of her work, becoming the embodiment of something she's not. It also casts the possibility of memory and what this means to us as humans. Aronofsky always deploys a little motif in his movies that create a submeaning and by using mirrors, he opens another door. To that of the horror genre. By manipulating stereotypical notions of horror, he essentials makes it easier on himself to portray Nina's obsession as one of psychological origins. Mirrors are the door to another world. Don't be surprised when things appear randomly; there for a reason. Oh and they're there to scare you as well!
And onto performance!! Natalie Portman is brilliant. Who knew Padme could act? I did always like her as an actress but she truly flourishes in this role. A gruelling year long schedule learning the ins and outs of the routines and toning her body to perfection, the effort really shows. The scenes in which she slips into her obsession are ones of great drama and high tension; via Aronofsky's visceral imagery, you really feel the pain of her character. One scene in particular I will not indulge too much, safe to say; its harsh on the fingers and proves that with good editing, performance and direction, you can make even the most brutal violence seem fascinatingly beautiful. I suggest the Academy give her the Best Actress Oscar since she's plain awesome and on the back of her Golden Globe win at the weekend, thoroughly deserves the acclaim.
I too would like to mention that Clint Mansell should be nominated once again. Sat in a packed cinema with surround sound is the only way to fully experience this movie. The juxtaposing sounds of Mansell's classical score combined with the raw vision of Aronofsky propel this movie to great heights and with the music, the film would fall flat. It keeps you on edge and prepares you for all the drama thats meant to come. Simply fantastic.
OK, verdict time. If you follow me on Twitter, you may know I have been rambling on about this for a long time. I've been awaiting its release date with enormous anticipation OK?! Is that a crime!? It certainly lives up to its hype. Aronofsky has created a beautifully visceral experience of obsession and perfection that genuinely looks like the Red Shoes got shot with adrenaline. Its evokative and memorable and so far this year, is my favourite of 2011. Brilliant stuff. Certainly gonna watch it again!
5 stars out of 5 (I don't give these lightly but after seeing two films in two days that I thought were worthy of this rating as staggered me)
I don't know what's next on the agenda to be honest!! Errmmmmm......OH.....I'm seeing the Fighter on Tuesday at an extra special preview screening but I might wait a while to review that. Its only fair to people since its still a couple of weeks from release. I think the Fighter and True Grit will be the next installments guys!
Thanks for reading!
Tward
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