Black Swan (2010)

Title, Year:  Black Swan (2010)

Director:  Darren Aronofsky

I would like to share a bit of my history with Darren Aronofsky’s movies.  When I was in college, I remember reading all I could find about this exciting new filmmaker who, on a shoestring budget, had created Pi.  Pi tells the story of a brilliant, obsessive mathematician who believes he can and must solve the mysteries of the numerical sequence.  I recall finally finding the DVD (which was an emerging format back then) on a trip through New Orleans at the Virgin Records store in the Quarter (sadly no longer there).  Being the movie geek that I am, I snatched it up and without hesitation and paid retail price. Pi turned out to be everything I expected and more.  The film was visually inventive, briskly paced, and written with snappy, intelligent dialogue and plot lines.  I knew I would see Darren Aronofsky go off to do great things. 

Since then, Aronofsky has made several visually complex and emotionally challenging films, such as Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, and now Black Swan.  To me, Black Swan is a very close cousin to Pi in terms of visual style, dramatic tone, and story.  Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a ballet dancer in New York City whose one goal in life, it seems, is to gain the lead role in the upcoming production of Swan Lake.  The film attempts to bring you into the life of a ballet dancer, complete with the rigorous training schedule, harsh diet, and fierce competition to land the “star” role.  After seeing this film, I can’t understand why anyone would want to be a dancer.  You really would have to love it to put yourself through this extremely tough lifestyle.  As Nina, Portman does a great job making you believe that she is this focused, determined person.  She has no trouble displaying Nina’s troubled soul.  SPOILER ALERT!:  Her best moment in the film comes right after Nina finds out she landed the lead role in Swan Lake.  Her excitement is more than that.   She plays the moment with a reaction comparable to a parent who just watched their child pass away and then miraculously come back to life.  I felt sad for her.

As a whole, I felt that the movie was vulgar when it really didn’t need to be.  The ballet scenes were of little interest to me, but the downward spiral of a character such as this is usually an interesting journey to take in a movie.  This was no different.  I thought the movie was really just ok.  Aronofsky didn’t really stretch much with this one.  He has done emotional strain in a variety of ways through the years and truthfully I’m ready for him to go down another path.  I’m glad both he and Natalie Portman got attention from this film and that it showcased their talents.  However, in the end, I feel that is really all the film is good for.  Ten years from now, no one will be watching Black Swan, but I would wager Darren Aronofsky and Natalie Portman will still be making movies.

For my final note, I say watch Black Swan and make your own opinion, and definitely add Pi to your list if you haven’t seen it already.