Natalie Portman is too, too good in a tutu as the tortured ballerina of “Black Swan.” Giving one of the best performances of this year, the 29-year-old actress transforms her body into a classical dancer’s as completely as she enters the psyche of a young female artist on the verge. “The Wrestler”‘s intense director Darren Aronofsky, working from a script credited to three writers, creates a character-driven horror thriller that could hardly be more Kafkaesque. But here, the agonizing metamorphosis unfolds amid the deceptive beauty of an elite New York City ballet company. Its stage is either a haunted house or a minefield of the mind for Portman’s protagonist Nina Sayers, who literally begins to embody the dual lead roles of “Swan Lake”‘s naive Swan Princess and wicked Black Swan.
Is she possessed supernaturally, psychologically or creatively? Aronofsky leaves the final interpretation to the audience. And in a brilliant blur of old and new art, he uses the character archetypes of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” to tell an engrossing, contemporary drama.
Nina is professionally ripe and ambitious when she supersedes the company’s aging prima ballerina (Winona Ryder) and lands the starring part in its upcoming production. But before that, Nina is a child — a cygnet, if you will.
| IF YOU GO |
| ‘Black Swan’ |
| » Rating: 4 out of 5 stars |
| » bold;” class=”BoxesChartsInfoboxBodybullet”> |
| Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey |
| » |
| Director: Darren Aronofsky |
| » |
| Running time: 103 minutes |
Three people will help provoke her change: her terrifyingly dominant mother Erica (Barbara Hershey), her sexually/artistically provocative director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) and her chief rival Lily (Mila Kunis). Are these three a real threat to her desires or is our heroine pathologically deluded?
Adorned at first in pink and still living at home with ex-dancer mom Erica – “Swan Lake”‘s “Queen” character? — Nina also seems to have had a history of self-mutilation and mental fragility. But just as in the fairy tales, an aggressive kiss from Thomas — “The Gentleman,” perhaps? — stirs something in the previously numb Nina. At the same time, Lily — the true Black Swan? — may be trying to sabotage her by seducing her into decadent distraction.
The opening night climax took my breath away; you’ll have to see what happens for yourself.
The power of that shocking curtain call comes thanks to Aronofsky’s inspired dark vision, Portman’s persuasive/evocative performance, a vigorous supporting cast (especially Hershey) and the flourish of makeup artists, choreographers and others. For a small scale piece, they achieve big effect.
Ballet was never so brazen or tantalizing as in this “Swan.”
