Black Swan Review

Dislcaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A sheltered ballerina is given the lead role in Swan Lake where she must unleash her dark side...which leads to her going bat-shit crazy.

Review: At first glance this movie appears as a possible horror/supsense wherein one of the opening scenes we see the main character, Nina's (played by Natalie Portman), doppelganger casually walking by. But this is to give us the indication that our lead is already a bit deranged as we see the plot unfold into a complex psychogical thriller. Nina has won the lead role in Swan Lake where she is feeling pressure to make use of her chance for fame. Her instructor is pressuring her to unleash her dark side as the Black Swan, Nina's creepy mom is tightening her grip of control, and Nina's inner sexuality is possibly being awakened by a new ballerina named Lily (played by Mila Kunis). All the performances are great with obvious attention to Natalie Portman; this really was an award worthy performance especially considering the contrast of her phoning it in with "Star Wars." There is some bizarre imagery strewn all about the film giving subtle clues to what may or may not be occuring. The audience is often left in the dark to what is real and what is not as if we are getting inside the twisted mind of Nina. All of this comes to a climactic crescendo of insanity as the viewer is left to wonder what it is they just witnessed. At the end of the day, this is a film all about the visuals and each person can have their own view on what happened. There is definitely a lot of room for interpretation as many scenes could have multiple meanings. This film is also one of those that you need to see twice or more to properly appreciate all the little clues going on. There are some weak points though, and I can see how the hype around this movie may turn some off as the exact genre of this film is often misinterpreted. The best advice I can offer is that this is a great movie with an interesting character study, but do not expect to be horrified or think of this as a scary movie by any means.

Notable Moment: Toward the end when Nina goes back to her dressing room to check on the dead body of Lily only to realize it was never there. The music amps up and we see the final spiral into madness.

Final Rating: 7.5/10