Film Review 2

Directed by       Darren Aronofsky

Produced by      Ari Handel, Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brian Oliver

Screenplay by   Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin

Starring             Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis

            Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller and horror filmdirected by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company.

            Nina Sayers, a young dancer in a prestigious New York City ballet company, lives with her mother, Erica, a former dancer. The company is preparing to open the season with Swan Lake. The director, Thomas Leroy, has to cast a new principal dancer after forcing Beth Macintyre into retirement. Leroy wants the same ballerina to portray the innocent, fragile White Swan as well as her dark, sensual twin, the Black Swan. Nina auditions for the part, performing flawlessly as the White Swan, but not quite able to emulate the characteristics of the Black Swan. Although Nina does not do well during her audition, she approaches Thomas and asks him to reconsider her as the lead role. He tells her she is the ideal dancer to cast as the White Swan, but she lacks the passion needed to correctly portray the Black Swan. When Thomas forcibly kisses Nina, she displays a change of character and bites him, convincing him to cast her as the Swan Queen.

            The relationship between the two dancers Lily and Nina is tense because of Lily's indiscretions, but Lily invites Nina to a night out. Nina is hesitant at first but decides to go against her mother's wishes. At a restaurant that evening, Lily offers Nina a capsule of ecstasy to help her loosen up. Though reassured its effects will only last a few hours, Nina turns it down. Lily later slips it into her drink at a nightclub while she is absent. Nina returns home late, fights with her mother, barricades herself in her room, and has sex with Lily until Lily smothers her with a pillow.

            Nina's hallucinations become stronger as she sees Thomas and Lily have sex in a backstage area and Beth stabbing herself in the face at the hospital with a nail file which Nina drops bloodied in the elevator. She has a violent argument with her mother, after which Nina passes out. Since her mother had called to say Nina was sick, Thomas assigned understudy Lily to take over, but reluctantly gives way when Nina insists on performing.

            The first act goes well, until Nina is distracted by a hallucination during a lift, causing her partner, playing the Prince, to drop her. Distraught, she returns to her dressing room and finds Lily there. Lily announces she is to play the Black Swan. Nina shoves her into a mirror, shattering it. Lily seems dead but then she wakes up and starts to strangle Nina. She grabs a shard of glass and stabs her rival in the stomach, killing her. Nina hides the body and returns to the stage to dance with passion and sensuality. Sprouting feathers, her arms become black wings as she finally loses herself and is transformed into a black swan. At the end of the act, she receives a standing ovation. Offstage, Thomas and the rest of the cast congratulate her on her stunning performance. Nina takes Thomas by surprise

            Back in her dressing room before the final act, Nina is congratulated by Lily, showing that their fight was imaginary. The mirror, however, is still shattered. She removes a shard from her own body and realizes she had stabbed herself. Dancing the last scene, in which the White Swan throws herself off a cliff, Nina spots her mother weeping in the audience. As Nina falls backward onto a hidden mattress, the theater erupts in thunderous applause. Thomas and the cast gather to congratulate her—only to find that she is severely bleeding. As the white ceiling lights envelop her, she whispers, "I felt it. Perfect. It was perfect."

            I think that this film is very serious and clever. And it made us think about our actions.

After watching Black Swan, I can say that it is the most disturbing psychological thriller of the year. Black Swan director, Darren Aronofsky, did a great job in making a film capable of evoking reactions in the audience.