Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
When is a movie about a ballerina obsessed with perfection not only that? Probably about as often as a horror film takes the conventions of the genre and turns them inside out, while still remaining true to the practices of building tension, piercing the mind of the unstable central character, and making her fragile yet imaginative psyche as much of a character as the timid woman whose mind can't quite keep it locked up. Welcome to the world of BLACK SWAN.
In the finest work of her career, Natalie Portman plays Nina, a dancer in the New York City whose all-consuming search for the flawless performance is surpassed only by her overbearing mother's (Barbara Hershey) desire to see all of her dreams realized through her daughter's life. I've always been fascinated by the world of ballet and dance, not so much to see the resulting performance but more to see the toe-crushing work that goes into each routine.
Director Darren Aronofsky seems to have a similar curiosity about the grueling steps it takes to shape a ballet, which clearly goes far beyond simply knowing the choreography. Nina's career has a chance to soar when the company's artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassel, who splits his time between being seducer and dictator) decides to put on a production of "Swan Lake" with an emphasis on the darker aspects of the ballet 's lead role of the White Swan/Black Swan.
While tightly-wound Nina is clearly the choice for the duel role of the White Swan (she knows the routine before the audition is even announced), Thomas has doubts she's capable of letting go enough to inhabit the Black Swan. He attempts some rather unorthodox methods to coax the performance out of Nina--everything from kissing her, telling her to go home and touch herself, and bringing in Lily (Mila Kunis), a new dancer who seems to embody the less technically perfect but free-spirited abilities Thomas is attempting to get from Nina.
Nina's anxiety is so pronounced that the signs begin to manifest themselves outwardly as painful-looking scratch marks begins to appear on her shoulder blades (apparently she had scratching issues as a girl, as well). In a small but critical role in BLACK SWAN, Winona Ryder plays Beth, the recently retired ballerina and star of the company whose paranoia and rage are matched only by Nina's admiration for her as a fellow perfectionist. And for years, Nina has been stealing small objects from Beth's dressing room in order to capture something of what Beth possesses.
Aronofsky's genius (and it's something he's toyed with before, especially in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) is the idea that a great deal of what Nina sees happening to or around her is all in her head. Is Lily trying to steal her part? It sure looks that way when Thomas casts Lily as Nina's understudy, or when the two women spend a night partying and Lily's slips drugs into Nina's drink. But then there are other moments, like the already legendary lesbian sex scene between Portman and Kunis, that are slightly less certain as to the reality of those situations. Aronofsky is most comfortable in those moments when reality and delusional fantasy co-exist. A backstage brawl between the two ballerinas during the premiere "Swan Lake" performance is especially death defying.
But amongst the psychological chaos, Aronofsky also wants to capture what it's like to spend countless hours in rehearsal and performance. There's an especially remarkable sequence where the director literally plants a camera just behind Portman's shoulders as she comes from her dressing room up the stage, positions herself just off stage, waits for her cue, and then emerges to meet her male counterpart in the middle of the stage. The point of view is similar to what Aronofsky frequently did with Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER, and this putting-us-in-their-shoes style is simply breathtaking. There are a couple of other instances of this POV in BLACK SWAN, and often in those instances the director is using the method for scarier sequences.
I've read a number of reviews that say BLACK SWAN is Aronofsky's attempt at Cronenberg or Argento, and I can certainly see the latter, especially since Dario Argento set some of this best horror works in the arts world. But those comparisons seems lazy without at least diving a bit more into what sets Aronofsky's work apart. He is intent on having this world surround us. I was as fascinated watching Portman re-stitch her ballet shoes as I was watching her metamorphosis into the kind of creature she needed to become to perform this ballet. And in a complex and bizarre way, we are rooting for Nina to complete her transformation, even if it means her losing her mind or life. We want it because she wants it (again, parallels between BLACK SWAN and THE WRESTLER are easily made on this level).
It's fantastic seeing Hershey back in top form. Her face may look slightly older, but her performance knifes its way under your skin to reveal every overbearing thing your mother ever did. She is the personification of passive-aggressive behavior--there's a scene with a birthday cake that will make you want to murder somebody--and her soul-sucking relationship with her daughter is destructive, bordering on dangerous, and Hershey absolutely crushes the performance. Vincent Cassel (recently seen the title role in the two-part MESRINE) has long been one of my favorite actors, but I really liked the way he injects a huckster quality to Thomas. He's selling a lifestyle to Nina, the same way he has with all the women who have come before her, because he knows breaking her in with such a challenging performance will make her his for as long as he wants. He is as evil as he is charming and handsome, and Cassel is one of the few actors with the strut to pull it off.
BLACK SWAN is a devastating work of power, style, and unfiltered tension. It's about the psychological price of personal accomplishment. It's about having your soul crushed and having it set free. And most importantly, it's about the differences between breaking free and being broken. Make no mistake, the almost-constant look on Natalie Portman's face is fear. The challenge I put to you is figuring out what she is most afraid of. And after you've compiled your list of possible answers, the correct choice is "All of the Above." BLACK SWAN will rattle you something fierce.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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