Black Swan
English (A) Cast: Natalie Portman, Barbara Hershey, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel Director: Darren Aronofsky
Nina (Portman) an aspiring ballerina has the gift to make it big. However, she is afraid to fail and also succeed at the same time due to pressure and insecurity after being offered the role of Black Swan in ‘Swan Lake’ by manipulative choreographer Thomas (Cassel).
As the date draws near Nina instead of resting works hard to put a good show but her mental health begins to deteriorate. She begins to see another dancer Lily (Kunis) as someone ready to snatch her role. Disturbed, she soon loses touch with reality.
Black Swan is a masterpiece like last year’s horror flick, Paranormal Activity. You’ll never want to see it again, alone, because of its self inflicting methods, grueling, tragic, obsessive and graphic gripping scenes. It is a mixture of beauty and horror.
The story of a woman who wants to succeed in her career is appreciated but what ultimately forces her to do is too graphic for young minds. You have a clear interplay of beauty and the beast. Some scenes like bleeding fingernails, bony spines and skin scratched raw are nightmarish.
When it comes to the acting, the cast perform pretty well. And to prove this, Portman was given the Best Actress award at the Oscars. Portman can deliver a frightening look and a fragile wannabe dancer at ease. Her flexibility and ability to transform from a shy, soft spoken lady to a disturbed dancer is realistic. One can only see a frightened dancer and not the actress in her. Kunis and Cassel lend strong support.
Despite this, this film is rather slow and you have stretched your patience to see the climax. Strangely, the wait is not in vain.
Black Swan is a bold, disturbing, captivating and extremely intense thriller – definitely not for the faint-hearted.
By Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald
