While this writer fully agrees with our first TIFF 2010 review about Darren Aronofsky’s Grand Guignol-like ballet psycho drama, “Black Swan,” there’s always more to be said (and sometimes those pesky readers demand more; if you want more context on what the film’s about though, you’ll have to read the first review).
Aronofsky’s own claims that the picture is a companion piece to “The Wrestler” are not far off at all, though where the Mickey Rourke comeback picture was about the body and the soul (and the will to continue), the ballet drama is about the body and mind.
As you’ve no doubt heard and read, this is a picture about the quest for perfection (whereas “The Wrestler” is perhaps a picture about endurance and the virtue of barely hanging in there); it’s about an athlete pushing herself beyond her limits. Natalie Portman shines as Nina, the insecure, fragile and fearful ballet student seeking to be the lead of Thomas (Vincent Cassel’s) new rendition of “Swan Lake,” though the main issue that could prevent Portman from receiving an Oscar nominations (or win) is that the performance is largely one-note (and frankly, the picture is probably just too much for most Academy voters, so don’t expect Picture and Director nods).
There are some nice character touches early on that help set up Nina’s mental duress. Her girly-girl room full of Care Bears, music boxes and other innocent, pink-colored ephemera accurately portrays a sheltered and over-protected young girl. Her mother (a stern and controlling Barbara Hershey) dotes on her “sweet little angel” of a daughter and so fails to prepare her mentally for the either the grueling physical world of ballet, or the psychological aspects of fierce competition. These are key breadcrumbs planted early on that make Nina’s voyage into madness all the more plausible.
Comparisons to early Roman Polanski are apt; ‘Swan’ is a strange crossbreed between “Repulsion,” the tender faux-sweet moments of “Rosemary’s Baby” and the absurdism of “The Tenant” (“Black Swan” is surprisingly funny at times). While it may push the limits of contemporary psychological horror’s suspension of disbelief, comments like “Balletsploitation. Should be in Midnight Madness. Total trash, but so fun,” from L.A. critic Karina Longworth seem unduly harsh. She does have a point though. “Black Swan” does occasionally get a bit too loopy for its own good, but it never fully goes off the rails, and Aronofsky, a deft master of control and tone, does an incredible job of calibrating the grotesqueness judiciously.
Perhaps it’s a subjective thing. This writer heard people whisper, “wow, that was graphic” afterwards while to me personally, it felt rather tame, but to each his own. Much has been made about the sex scenes in the film, and while also pushing the limits of taste and what can be shown onscreen, Film Drunk-like reviewers hoping to rewatch certain sequences over again on DVD with a bottle of handcream nearby, will likely be disappointed. As quickly as the scenes titillate, they also spook and horrify. These aren’t gratuitous sex scenes, they’re further evidence of an imploding psychosis foisted onto a rival (Mila Kunis) who is part friend, part foe, depending on the state of mind of our protagonist. As her paranoia grows, so does the film it its outlandishness, which could potentially turn some viewers off (again, think of the hands coming out of the walls in “Repulsion”), but it is mostly well-handled.
Vincent Cassel is another standout and his performance as a demanding, unforgiving and unrelenting ballet teacher, not to mention a lecherous one at that, adds another layer of sexual discomfort for the burgeoning and innocent dance star. As our other reviewer noted, the film’s dichotomy is one of passion and control, perfection and release. Cassel’s Thomas character is constantly preaching to Nina that her technique is flawless, but that bores him, he wants to see her abandon herself and let go and it’s her eventual willingness to jump into the abyss that further affects her fracturing mental condition (those who want to see Winona Ryder should temper their expectations, her role is small and while Mila Kunis is capable, it’s evident that she’s no Natalie Portman). There’s excellent use of mirrors throughout to convey the refracting mind, and the picture is shot much like “The Wrestler,” including the raw hand-held work and those Dardenne Brothers-like tracking shots of the back of the protagonist’s head.
Where “Black Swan” truly enraptures is in its dance sequences that build to operatic fever-pitch spectacles of sound and vision; the Swan Lake music — already incredibly dramatic — heightens the camera’s furious tracking of the action, which works as if it’s also caught up in the passionate push-and-pull embrace of the dance. This is thrilling, magnificent stuff and arguably the finest moments of Aronofsky’s career. “Black Swan” hits some glorious heights and occasionally, there’s a minor stumble or a slightly off note tonally, but again, it’s not about the grammar, it’s about the feeling in the heart and this one pumps ferociously throughout. [A-]