Black Swan - Movie Review

Would it be really weird if I were to say that I liked a movie about ballet?

Black Swan... what can I say, it's Darren Aronofsky... This movie is like an ultimate mix between "The Wrestler" and "Requiem for a Dream"

So the plot goes like this, a young ballet dancer Nina (Natalie Portman) gets the role of the Swan Queen in the new adaptation of the Swan Lake, which in turn demands from her to master both the White Swan and the Black Swan. The White Swan part is perfect for her, but it's the Black Swan that Nina really struggles with. You get to see the character of Nina evolve, driven by her perfectionism, trying to break loose from the constant control of her charming mother and yet trying to please everyone. She befriends a fellow dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), who is probably the most interesting character in the movie. You just can't put your finger on her, you never seem to understand if she's genuinely trying to help or is she simply trying to replace Nina.

Now about the actors, as far as I'm concerned, Black Swan got one of the best performances I've ever seen. Not only Natalie Portman (we'll get to her in a second), but all the supporting cast... Mila Kunis was perfect for her role, Vincent Cassel, who played the director, was really good... and of course the mother...

As for Natalie Portman - Oscar, no doubt (edit: I told you). This is her best role by far, the display of emotions and the overall craziness and turmoil that's inside her character's mind, the way she put it all on screen... You could actually see inside the character's head, and that clearly tells you something about the actor... I know, most of it was the great job done by the director, but I assure you, you need a really-really good actor to portray the complexity of Darren Aronofsky's ideas.

The soundtrack was really memorable (c'mon, it's Swan Lake...) and created all the tension of the last 10-20 minutes of the movie.

Now about the dancing, I'm not gonna lie to you, I have no clue in ballet... but from what I saw, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis were on a very good level (I guess doing ballet for six months, 7 days a week, 5 hours a day does make you a ballet dancer)

(of course, Aronofsky's films are not for everyone... If you just wanna watch something that doesn't demand any brain activity and just watch some explosions *cough*michaelbay*cough* and have some laughs with your friends while chewing popcorn - you can safely pass on this one)


It's one of the best movies of 2010 and definitely should've won the Best Picture... oh, well