You don’t hear a lot of in between opinions on this film. It seems that most either fully support this film as a work of cinematic genius. Or they very quickly dismiss it as unoriginal, uninspired, clumsily written and ultimately predictable. Well, I loved it. It was my favorite movie of last year and now that it’s out on DVD and Blu-ray, I can write my review. Again, I warn that this will be spoiler filled so if you have yet to see it, do so then come back. We can start with a look at some of the more technical aspects of the film. First off, I think the acting overall was particularly good. Natalie Portman as Nina was brilliant and graceful in every part of this tale. I think the most crucial part of her performance was finding the exact level of maturity the part was calling for. She is a young woman, late 20’s, ambitious and strong willed but she still resides in an apartment with her mother. Her room still shows the décor of a 13 year old with dreams of the prima ballerina. Her mannerisms and general demeanor had to constantly reflect that of someone stuck in between childhood and adulthood. That specific level of naivety was necessary not only for her character, but it was the basis that all other characters in this story had to contrast and play against. Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey also stood out with their performances. Subtlety wasn’t always part of their repertoire but as we’ll see, it wasn’t asked for.
The score was also pretty impressive. This was basically Clint Mansell doing his best impression of Tchaikovsky. It was important for the music to be telling a slightly different and distorted version of the original “Swan Lake.” Again, we’ll talk about why later. The sound design and editing was incredible. It was this aspect that gave the film most of its horror feel. It seemed to be inspired by some of the best stuff from Cronenberg and Lynch, eerie and unsettling.
This was my favorite shot film of the past year. That gives a lot of reason behind why it was my favorite film outright. The verite handheld feel that we saw with Aronofsky’s last film, “The Wrestler” (also shot by Mathew Libatique) comes back but this time with much more effectiveness and beauty. The way that the actual dancing was shot, especially the final scene really sealed it for me. Typically, a stage production that is filmed will simply show a wide shot, capturing as much in the frame as possible. Then maybe a few close shots. This film actually has the camera dancing with the production. The complexity of the choreography involved in shooting that way is amazing in itself. The fact that this scene was still easy enough to follow and continuously kept it sense of space is so much more impressive. Lest we forget, it also looked flat out beautiful.
I think this is Darren Aronofsky’s best film thus far. I thought “The Wrestler” would have been a perfect film if only the script had been handled better. These films share a lot of similarities. Essentially, we are watching a story about a professional that relies on her body and her youth to succeed. And similarly, the character is aging past her prime and struggling with those challenges. There are also a lot of differences that set this film apart from the latter but I mention the similarities because it makes me curious to see what he makes next. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tackles this theme a third time. Filmmakers love loose trilogies.
So, let’s get into why this film was my favorite of the year. This was one of the best examples of art imitating life imitating art films we’ve had in a long while. The film it reminded me the most of actually was Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games.” Both films for all intents and purposes have the same character. In Haneke’s 
film, it is the tormenting hostage takers. In this film, it is the Tomas character. They all serve the same purpose, that of a storytelling surrogate. About 20 minutes into “Black Swan” Tomas flat out tells us everything that will happen in this film. At the time, he is speaking of the ballet he is directing, but his words are those of the screenplay, referencing the film that Aronofsky is directing. Foreshadowing is way too subtle a word to describe this and I think a lot of people were put off by this. There’s not a lot of mystery when it comes to what will actually transpire in the rest of the film. The question is how, to what degree and how much of what we are seeing can be taken at face value.
This brings up my next point. One of the more common complaints I’ve heard is in the over the 
top performances, especially from Cassel and Hershey. I really think this misses the point. It is true that at times Cassel is doing a Snidely Whiplash impersonation and Barbara Hershey is only a few shades away from Carrie’s mom. But, these are only critiques when you are expecting a level of realism that I never thought this film was attempting. As far as I could tell, the vast majority of this story takes place in the Nina’s mind. Either from the pressure of her job or a pre-existing condition that the film doesn’t make clear, she is very quickly digressing into some form of paranoid schizophrenia. Her mind is extremely susceptible to any suggestion and it runs away with it in the form of hallucinations. She has a rash that starts to sprout wings, her reflection in the mirror plays tricks on her and her mom is even invading her sexual fantasies. I tend to be of the impression that this is a portrait of a woman that has had mental issues for a long time. Her mom makes references to a life she gave up to take care of her daughter and as I mentioned before, her room doesn’t really look like that of a grown woman. At one point she actually grabs a handful of stuffed animals and throws them out in a fit, as if to force herself to mature outside of her mind’s own capabilities. This reading is just one of the few that I’ve heard but it seems to me to be the most plausible. It also gives an entirely new meaning to Barbara Hershey’s character. She is portrayed as a monster on the surface of this film. But if you take yourself out of the literal interpretation mindset, she may very well be anything but. This is Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion” meets Powell and Pressburger’s “Red Shoes.” And yes, I’m glad they didn’t put that on the trailer.
Great points.
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