Black Swan

Yesterday was the first time in a long time that I have been to see a film on the day of its release and I have to say that Black Swan was one of the best films I have seen in ages. A, what can by no means be described as small, group of sixteen went to see Black Swan for a friend’s birthday. I had been perhaps a little obsessively following everything about the film after having first heard about it late last year. I read review after review and was assured of its quality with Natalie Portman’s Golden Globe win for her role as Nina Sayers and its twelve BAFTA nominations. This borderline obsession is now continuing after I have seen it and I can’t stop thinking and talking about the film, so I am convinced that it is amazing and I definitely want to see it again as so as possible!

The story itself, detailing the mental stability of young ballet hopeful Nina Sayers, a babied girl with obvious problems, and her taking on of the role of the Swan Queen and struggle to dance the role of the Black Swan, has already by many been described as over the top. The psychological thriller has also been renamed a horror with its sometimes excessive gore, but I think that whichever it is it is extremely successful. Nina’s mental breakdown is paralleled with her on stage improvements and her determination to be perfect is what eventually leads to her collapse. This take on the ballet world’s stance on perfection is something which has also been criticised with Nina’s self-harming and eating disorder which, although not life threatening have arguably shown ballet in a bad light. This along with her need to impress her morally questionable director, Vincent Cassel and new, exciting and mysterious dancer, Mila Kunis, both of whom give excellent performances, finally breaks her. There is also tension between her and her mother who gave up her career to look after her and therefore can’t let go of her, which creates a very sinister atmosphere especially in scenes of cutting nails and Nina’s creepy childlike pink bedroom.

Natalie Portman herself is brilliant. Her intensity is hard to watch and this along with the close up following shots and POV shots is part of what gives a spine tingling effect. Also, although it is obvious she has not done all of her own dancing that which she does is very believable and in parts beautiful. The dark lighting and close up shots are not the only things which create the chilling tension in the film. Tchaikovsky’s music resonates throughout the film, building the tension in the most unsettling moments and you literally leave with it banging in your ears. The skin crawling special effects of the many disturbing moments involving blood and nail cutting are sickening, but also the feather growth and skin changing of Nina herself is terrifying.

However, there were some laughable moments some of which probably were more to do with us finding things that weren’t funny just that, but also some genuinely humorous moments. For example, when Nina is mid breakdown and there is a close up of Natalie Portman’s intense face, a man in full Rotbart scary swan costume walks past and just says “Hey” something which I found stupidly funny.

Overall, I was totally immersed in the drama and thrill of the film. Darren Aronofsky creates a world which is truly terrifying and I absolutely loved it. The beauty of the ballet in stark contrast to the actual world of many of the dancers is something which I found not only very interesting but also effectively done and it added hugely to the pressure which was created in the cinema by the film. I do however think for the film to work it is necessary to want to be taken in and scared by this world, otherwise it could be found laughable. I also think that the scale and volume of seeing it in the cinema enhanced it to its extreme and it wouldn’t be the same watching it at home on DVD. Although, this is something that I think I will undoubtedly be doing!