Black Swan Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Natalie Portman as Nina
Mila Kunis as Lilly
Vincent Cassel as Thomas
Winona Ryder as Beth

Plot: A ballerina, Nina, lands the biggest role of her life as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. Though landing that role changes her life, she has to deal with the struggles and immense pressures of the role.

Review: I don't know too many people are fans of ballet, be it dancing it or watching others dance. Black Swan kind of makes ballet interesting but more so, it tells an extremely good story that everyone can relate to in some way.

Black Swan follows a dancer, Nina, who has worked hard and struggled to make an impact. She finally lands the role that is going to take her to the next level, the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. What she doesn't realize is that there is a great amount of pressure and paranoia awaiting her, that takes form in a couple ways.

Natalie Portman, who i've always been fond of, puts on a performance of a lifetime. She embodies the role fully and it comes off as more than believable, which is exactly the performance that we should in all movies by all actors/actresses.

Her counterpart, Mila Kunis as Lilly, is just as convincing. When I mentioned above that the pressure and paranoia of the character Nina comes in a couple ways, Lilly is one of them. Or so it seems. Black Swan can come off as confusing as hell but when you sit with it, it may become clearer. As I have it, Nina only thought Lilly was after her role because she was feeling the pressure of it. But because Mila Kunis plays the role very deviously, you honestly believe Lilly is out to get Nina. So as I have it, Nina literally imagined most, if not all of  Lillys wrong doings. It gets confusing.

The story is one of the better ones from this year and definitely even of recent years. It's a story of perseverance, hard work, control and obsession. Nina had to persevere all of her crazy imaginings and her obsessive mother who lives her ambitions through her daughter.

The one thing that may hold it back is the fact that it loses some slight unique points. The director Darren Aronofsky shot it the exact way he shot his last classic, The Wrestler. So every times he shoots a special movie, he's going to shoot it the exact same way? Not that it hurts the overall movie, but people who saw The Wrestler will catch on, and may not be as impressed.

Overall, Black Swan is a classic movie. Will it be brought to wide release anytime soon? I don't know yet but when I find out, you'll be the first to know. This is a movie you don't want to miss out on.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5