Black Swan

Review by Anthony Morris

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina for a prestigious New York ballet company, and that's pretty much the only thing we really can be sure of in director Darren Aronofsky's house of mirrors. 

And that's mirrors in a literal sense as well as the metaphorical.

Black Swan is full of mirrors and reflections that take on a life of their own, which is only fitting for a story about someone forced to confront - or create - her own dark side. 

See, to play the lead in Swan Lake - which Nina desperately wants to do - you have to play two roles : the innocent, virginal White Swan and the sinister seductress Black Swan. 

The company's artistic director (Vincent Cassel) thinks Nina's perfect for the White Swan, but lacks the darkness required for the other half of the job. 

Nina certainly seems brittle and fragile, but her occasional flash of darkness is enough to score her the gig despite competition from a much more relaxed and natural newcomer (Mila Kunis). 

Soon those hints of darkness become a flood as Nina starts seeing people who might not be there, having wild nights that may not have happened, has a rash on her back that is either nervous scratching or swan wings waiting to burst free and generally acts like someone falling apart. 

Which she is, and once you get past the fairly slender plot - this isn't much deeper that your typical "descent into madness" horror film - you can relax and enjoy the style of the slide. 

It's the style (and a wonderfully tense performance from Natalie Portman) that really impresses here, with Aronofsky whipping things into an overwrought frenzy and then somehow making things even more hysterical. 

Black Swan is no classic, but as an experience it's definitely hard to forget.

4 out of 5

Black Swan
Australian release: 20th January, 2011
Official Site: Black Swan
Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel, Barbara HersheyDirector
Director: Darren Aronofsky