Darren Aronofsky, the acclaimed director of Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, presents another intense and artistic film, Black Swan.
The film takes the glamorous and elegant world of ballet and explores the darker side of this historical art form, tainting its purity with a psychological story which reflects the famous tale of Swan Lake as Natalie Portman falls into darkness and loses her mind.
Portman deserves all the credit she has gained from her performance as the lead, dedicated ballerina Nina Sayers who lands the lead role when her dance company puts on Swan Lake.
She encapsulates the fragile beauty of the White Swan, graceful and innocent and as a ballerina desperately seeking the approval of her mother and her director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). Portman powerfully displays Nina's transformation from a delicate and timid ballerina into a troubled and paranoid lead.
Mila Kunis is the perfect supporting actress and opposite Portman she plays the reckless and free-spirited Lily, resonating everything that Leroy wants out of his Black Swan, and everything that Nina is not.
The casting and performances - including supporting roles by Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey - are flawless, and the style in which it is put on screen is captivating. But the story is where the film lacks credibility.
A powerful and eye-catching use of light, and dark, throughout the film creates a theatrical atmosphere mirroring that of seeing a real ballet in a theatre. And the use of props - such as mirrors - coupled with the voyeuristic style of filming and specific editing style create tense and thrilling scenes as Nina slowly slips into insanity.
Although aspects of the plot are particularly strong, such as the development of the characters and their onscreen chemistry and relationships, I can't help feeling the film hasn't quite got it right.
Nina's insanity seems all too extreme, and although I respect the complexity of the story and what the film makers were trying to do, it didn't quite work.
Black Swan was successful in making the audience question everything they see on screen. But it went too far, leaving the viewer unsure as to whether what they just saw was really happening in the script or was just in Nina's head.
Beginning with simple and subtle illusions worked, but as more and more of the film was skewed by Nina's imagination it was easy to get too lost. Some parts seemed unnecessary and it felt as if the director was over-complicating things.
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