Rating of
3/4
How far would you go to be perfect?
MovieAddict - wrote on 01/25/12
When ballerina, Nina (Natalie Portman) is cast to play the Swan Queen, which is two roles in one – Odette, the virginal White Swan awaiting a kiss from the Prince, and her heartless twin, Odile, the sexually predatory Black Swan who lures the prince away, she easily proves herself as the graceful and innocent White Swan. It is the dual role as the cunning and seductive Black Swan that proves to be the challenge especially with Lily (Mila Kunis) standing as a major threat to Nina's shining moment. She personifies everything Nina is not. A natural dancer, prepared to take risks, let go, be bad and clearly very sensuous without even trying, she plays the Yin to Nina's Yang and the movie is better because of the two sides coming together.
This fantasy drama takes you on a surreal ride through the mind of an obsessive perfectionist whose mental state declines as pressure mounts. We are witness to all the stages in this film that may not be to everyone tastes: the ingénue who must go through internal hell to perform her role, the controlling and strict former ballerina mother (Barbara Hershey) from hell who wants Nina to achieve all she couldn't in her professional life time, the choreographer who manipulates the players and the rival who threatens to steal it all away. All of these forces are backdrops to the drama playing out in Nina's mind but Portman nails it beautifully as the tortured individual whose grip on reality is slipping.
This movie is truly one of the most disturbing films I have ever watched in my life and ranges from melodrama to thriller and almost borders on horror in a few parts.
