Director Darren Aronofsky's companion piece to his Oscar-winning film, The Wrestler, is a macabre psychological thriller that plays brilliantly with the central theme of Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, where a dancer is required to play both the White Swan and her evil Black Swan twin. Nina (Natalie Portman) is chosen by her New York City ballet company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) to champion the role. Nina is obsessed with perfection - a by-product of her wildly over-bearing mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) - and is clearly mentally ill. She soon begins to confuse what's real with what's imagined and believes a younger, more earthy dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) is vying to take her place. What results is a marvelous examination of an artistically ill mind filmed with a richness and complexity that is both horrific and beautiful. Aronofsky's directing is stunning with each scene a study in black and white. Black Swan is a deep film and will garner Oscar nods this year.
My rating 9 out of 10.
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