Swan Dive

Film review: Black Swan

MANILA, Philippines - Be forewarned, this is Darren Aronofsky territory, and it’s just by chance that we find him in the world of ballet in his Oscar-nominated film, Black Swan. If you read the interviews of Aronofsky, he saw Black Swan as a companion piece to his The Wrestler (for which Mickey Rourke won a Best Actor Oscar), an examination of how a very insular world — like ballet or wrestling — can impact on the fragile psyche of the individuals who choose to make careers in these pressure-laden worlds. In Black Swan, we follow Nina (Natalie Portman) as she’s chosen from the company, and thrust into the lead role of their forthcoming production of Swan Lake. It’s a story that also chronicles a descent into madness, obsession and ends in tragedy.

When the New York City ballet company director (Vincent Cassel) dispatches the former prima ballerina of the company (played by Winona Ryder) to oblivion, he searches from within the ranks of the company to find their new “star.” In competition are the likes of the ballerinas portrayed by Portman (Nina) and Mila Kunis (Lily).

As we follow Nina and see her dedication to her craft, we also witness how her mother (Barbara Hershey) suffocates her because she sees all the frustrations of a short-lived career in ballet because she chose to get pregnant with Nina, come to the surface. Actually painfully shy and insecure beyond words, Nina is fragility personified, and when against all expectations, she is chosen to play the lead role, what follows is a wrenching story of how in order to really snag the role, she must effectively play both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan of the production. Polar opposites in personality and dance treatment, Nina “snaps” as she tries to get a peg on how to play her lead role of a lifetime. Technically adept, Nina lacks the passion of Lily, and as she attempts to grasp the duality of the lead role, we watch her unravel.

At its core, the film is a psychological thriller, with concepts like doppelganger, delusion/illusion, psychotic episodes and outright dementia all rearing their collective heads. I say this as fair warning, because when I watched the film, I was with some friends who thought this was some film about ballet, the hardships they undergo, the competition, and so on. So they were in for some shock, as the more grisly, visceral elements of the film would shoot across the screen. There is blood and gore in this Aronofsky film, and at the end, it is a portrait of the artist as a young, disturbed, woman!