Black Swan

Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky has created some of the most controversial and complex films of the last 25 years. Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Mother. None of which I would recommend to anyone who is faint of heart or in the least bit sensitive. While his filmography is filled with really twisted yet creative works of art. Only of one of them falls into the masterpiece category and for me that film is Black Swan. This movie follows Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), an aspiring dancer who is part of a ballet company in New York, which opens their new season with an updated version of the Tchaikovsky classic Swan Lake. Purely by chance, the passionate yet vulnerable Nina is given the opportunity to play the duelling characters of the white and black swans. Over the following weeks, this turns the role from aspiring passion into a deadly obsession which gives Nina a one-way ticket to a path of no-return. Portman actually went to extreme physical lengths during the production of the film in order to perfect her performance as Nina, which didn’t just pay off with how incredible her performance is, but also unsurprisingly won her pretty much every single acting award in the 2011 awards season.

Finally, the problem I personally have with Aronofsky as a director/storyteller is that much of his work goes way too far (in regards to graphic violence, gore and distressing imagery) in order to prove a point. Although Black Swan is very gruesome and incredibly disturbing at times, it’s needed to show how dangerous pushing yourself can be in regards to your mental & physical health while working on a project or perfecting a chosen craft. In the last half of the 100 minutes, (which flies by so quickly, it doesn’t even feel like half an hour), Nina’s passion goes from questionably healthy to completely unhealthy, every single shot, every single unflinching frame is a total marvel to watch. This is thanks to the incredible editing and camerawork as well as Natalie Portman’s spellbinding performance as Nina, a perfect blend of being passionately driven and manic insanity. The ending, although predictable, is still incredibly suspenseful and a visual masterpiece that is well-constructed. Black Swan is one of the best films of the decade, full stop.

10/10 – Calum Roberts