Black Swan

We all have our limitations. We try to deal with them and overcome them as best we can but sometimes our limits are just that. Overcoming limitations is the central theme is Darren Aronofsky’s dark fairy tale ‘Black Swan’ about a young ballerina named Nina (Natalie Portman) who finds herself cast in a part beyond her range in a new production of ‘Swan Lake.’

Nina is a truly fragile character. Emotionally she feels 12 years old. Her mother Erica (played by the fantastic Barbara Hershey) seems to have done a lot of work to make sure she stays that way. Nina’s bedroom feels like a prison cell and the dozens of oversized stuffed animals feel like the guards.

One of the nice details of the film is the way it refuses to glamorize the world of ballet. The dance routines look more painful than enchanting. The company director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) has dark designs on Nina. He casts her in the lead of his new production of ‘Swan Lake.’ The lead is a duel role, the virginal White Swan and her seductive evil twin, the Black Swan. Thomas points out that Nina is perfect for the White Swan but completely unsuited for the Black Swan, a role that requires a sensuality and spontaneity that Thomas hopes to draw out of Nina. The way he sets about doing that is rather unsavory. While Nina’s mother is certainly no angel, Thomas feels like the biggest threat to Nina. This is interesting because he is the only character who wants Nina to actually succeed in the part of the Black Swan. The other dancers whisper behind her back and her mother feels that the role is too much for her.

The mother might have a point. Rehearsals continue and Nina’s progress is slow. She’s breaking out in strange rashes. Most importantly She is unable to be spontaneous and ‘in the moment,’ one of the most important skills in acting. The situation is so bad in fact, if we hadn’t watched her practice her routines until her toes bled, we might wonder if her heart were really in it. The stress is getting to her. She grows envious of Lilly (Mila Kunis), a new dancer who recently joined the company. Duality is a theme in ‘Swan Lake’, and therefore, by necessity it is a theme here too. Lily is everything that Nina is not: free, warm, in the moment and sensual. This duality between Lily and Nina provide some of the films most bravado sequences. It’s a subplot that develops slowly but never fully. I would have liked to see their duality played up a little more.

The film is very well executed. The grainy cinematography by frequent Aronofsky collaborator Matthew Libatique is wonderfully atmospheric and haunting. The acting is top notch. Natalie Portman’s decent into on screen insanity ranks as one of the best performances of the year and she absolutely deserves all the accolades she’s been getting. As does Barbara Hershey, who is wonderfully manipulative, aggressive yet very fragile in her own way.

The film isn’t perfect though. Not by a long shot. The Thomas character is over the top even for this melodrama and his character is not nearly inspiring enough for me to believe that he is the great director he’s supposed to be. The tension could have been ramped up. The special effects sometimes intrude on the actors. Also, quite frankly, Aronofsky is holding back. He has done much more intense and intimate work. After ‘Requiem for a Dream’ and ‘The Wrestler’ I expected more from him. Perhaps that was unfair. I probably would have praised the film much more highly if I was unaware of his previous work.

Grade: B-