Natalie Portman in Black Swan Movie Cinema Review

Natalie Portman in Black Swan Movie Cinema  Review

Directed by
Darren Aronofsky
Certificate 18

Rating: 4 Out Of 5 Stars

This is a disturbing two hours, from a dreamy opening sequence with a ballet dancer being chased by a menacing figure in black, to an ending that makes your eyes swim.

Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman as a ballerina in Swan Lake and suffering for her art, is an uncomfortable watch throughout. Well made, preposterous at times,

painful at others, there are embarrassing scenes coupled with others that are harrowing.

For a psychological horror, this is what director Darren Aronofsky has set out to do – and it has been achieved.

It tells the story of a dancer in a New York ballet company who is chosen from the cast to become the new lead and perform the tricky role of the Swan Queen.

For those not au fait with the Swan Lake tale, it’s about a woman who is turned into a swan and can only be saved by a prince, who she must make fall in love with her. But her alter ego, a black swan, tricks him into falling for her instead, thus meaning salvation is beyond the white swan – so she kills herself. Truth and performance become intertwined as ­Portman’s character rehearses the role of her life – on that Portman brilliantly fulfils.

This is essentially a horror film, but given a different twist by transporting the action away from a haunted motel or creepy castle.

It has an occasional immaturity that detracts from the overall vibe. Poor Vincent Cassell plays a letchy ballet director and has some terrible lines: “Forget about control, I want to see passion!” he barks. “You are stiff like a dead corpse!” Ugh.

There is also a reliance on plonking piano chords in non-dramatic moments. It idly paints dancers as catty and horrible. It’s all ­bitchiness and male-fantasy lesbianism – you wouldn’t get such nonsense in a ­football team.

So what is there to like? Portman is a great lead and Aronofsky – who made The Wrestler – has made a super-creepy film with drama and gross-out moments. This gave me the heebie-jeebies.

It is worth a look, but not one to shake January gloom.


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